NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana – The New Orleans Police Department will continue “sanctuary city” policies that protect illegal immigrants from deportation despite stricter immigration policies at the forefront of President-Elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration.
In a statement to Breitbart Texas, NOPD did not mention changing course with policing policies which block federal immigration officials’ detainers on noncitizens and prevent law enforcement from inquiring about an arrestee’s immigration status.
NOPD told Breitbart Texas that the policies have “been approved” by “the federal judge overseeing our consent decree” and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Under NOPD’s sanctuary city policies, officers are barred from looking into the immigration status of anyone they come into contact with, including victims of crimes or suspects related to the same. Even if NOPD officers learn that an individual is in the country illegally, they are not allowed to share that information unless they are under court order. The City’s sanctuary city policies forbid the NOPD from aiding ICE in any way with operations such as raids, whereas the law enforcement agency once helped with traffic control.
NOPD recently changed course somewhat to cooperate with ICE detainers for illegal immigrants convicted on separate charges after pressure had been applied from the state attorney general’s public comments.
Similar sanctuary cities, like Los Angeles, have recommitted to their sanctuary policies, telling the news media that they too do not plan on changing course on policies that have been criticized for keeping illegal criminals safe while putting Americans in harm’s way.
In Trump’s Administration, Kansas Secretary of State and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) are expected to help drive stricter immigration policies which are expected to ramp up southern border security; increase the number of deportations; and set into place policies that prioritize deporting criminal illegal immigrants.
Louisiana’s hawkish Attorney General Jeff Landry tried to ban sanctuary city policies across the state last legislative session with bipartisan support. Louisiana Senate Democrats eventually gutted the effort. Landry’s office has previously told Breitbart Texas that ending policies that help cities harbor illegal immigrants remains a priority.
John Binder is a contributor for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.
This article has been updated to reflect additional comments offered from the NOPD after publication.