ADL FILES AMICUS BRIEF CHALLENGING
ANTI-IMMIGRANT DOJ POLICY
Philadelphia, PA, October 15, 2018…The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) filed an amicus (friend-of-court) brief in Philadelphia v. Sessions, urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to block a Justice Department (“DOJ”) policy that would place immigration enforcement-related conditions on the receipt of federal funding by cities like Philadelphia with “Welcoming City” and so-called “sanctuary city” policies.
ADL’s brief argues that, by conditioning the award of federal public safety grants on a city’s compliance with certain federal immigration enforcement policies, the Department of Justice would drive a dangerous wedge between local law enforcement and immigrant communities. This would create an environment in which victims would be afraid to report crimes, including hate crimes, which would make all citizens less safe.
Nancy Baron-Baer, ADL Regional Director, issued the following statement:
“If the DOJ’s policy is enforced, the community trust that Philadelphia police have worked so hard to earn will be replaced by suspicion and fear. Immigrants, who are already reluctant to interact with law enforcement in the current political climate, will be even more afraid to come forward to report crime. The damage to public safety will be immediate and irreparable, as immigrants will be even more vulnerable to hate crimes. And it will be difficult—if not impossible—for local police to rebuild the bonds of trust and cooperation with immigrant communities moving forward.”
ADL recently filed similar briefs in County of Santa Clara v. Trump, San Francisco v. Trump, City of Richmond v. Trump, State of California v. Sessions, and Chicago v. Sessions. The law firm Latham & Watkins LLP prepared these briefs on behalf of ADL. The full brief can be found at https://www.adl.org/education/references/amicus-briefs/philadelphia-v-sessions-usca-3rd-circuit-2018.
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The Anti-Defamation League was founded in 1913 to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment for all. Today, it is the world’s leading organization combating anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination, exposing hate groups, training law enforcement on hate crimes and extremism, developing implicit bias curricula for students and educators, countering cyber-hate and bullying, and relentlessly pursuing equal rights for all.
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ADL Philadelphia, 1500 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102 United States
ADL Philadelphia, 1500 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102 United States
