FILE PHOTO: U.S. Attorney General William Barr arrives for U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. February 4, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/POOL
February 10, 2020
By Sarah N. Lynch and Makini Brice
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department ramped up its fight on Monday against states and municipalities that adopt “sanctuary” policies to protect illegal immigrants from deportation, with Attorney General William Barr announcing new lawsuits against the state of New Jersey and King County, Washington, where Seattle is located.
The lawsuit against New Jersey asks a court to stop the state from enforcing a law that prohibits state and local law enforcement from sharing information about criminally charged illegal immigrants. The lawsuit against King County targets a law that Barr said forbids the Department of Homeland Security “from deporting aliens from the United States through the county airport.”
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Makini Brice; Editing by Leslie Adler)
