NEWS

Will Trump's 'sanctuary city' order affect Iowa City?

Andy Davis
aldavis@press-citizen.com

Iowa City's policy limiting its role in federal immigration enforcement should not jeopardize federal funding in spite of an executive order signed Wednesday by President Donald Trump, the city's attorney says.

Last week, the Iowa City Council codified longstanding practices by adopting a policy that, with exceptions, states the city will take no law enforcement action toward and commit no local resources toward enforcing federal immigration law. That decision came after the council opted not to pursue a "sanctuary city" label.

Trump's order calls on the government to withhold federal grants and funding for "sanctuary cities." In discussions with the City Council, City Attorney Eleanor Dilkes has said there is no firm definition for "sanctuary cities," but that there are three basic types of "sanctuary city" policies in use nationally: "don't tell," "don't ask" and "don't enforce."

President Donald Trump holds up an executive order for border security and immigration enforcement improvements after signing the order during a visit to the Homeland Security Department headquarters in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Specifically, Trump's order gives the Secretary of Homeland Security discretion to designate any jurisdiction a "sanctuary jurisdiction." The order cites a portion of federal law that makes it illegal for federal, state and local government entities to prohibit sending or receiving an individual's immigration status, legal or illegal, to the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Iowa City's new policy specifically states that no city employee will be restricted in his or her communication with federal immigration authorities. Dilkes on Wednesday said, based on the executive order, the city's federal funding should not be in jeopardy.

"If you look at the executive order, the only thing that gives me some pause is that the director of office and management and budget is directed to obtain and provide relevant information on all federal grant money that currently is received by any 'sanctuary jurisdiction,' " she said. "In terms of the specific Section 9, that is saying they want to ensure that states and political subdivisions comply with that section of the code, I can confidently say we do."

Iowa City received more than $18 million in federal grants in fiscal year 2016, according to the city's annual financial report. More than $213,000 came from the U.S. Department of Justice grants.

OUR VIEW: Do we need the 'sanctuary' label?

Iowa City's policy includes exceptions for public safety threats as determined by the police chief or designee; violent offenders; or situations where cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement would be necessary to protect the public.

The purpose of the city's policy is to ensure community members who are victims or witnesses of a crime, regardless of immigration status, feel comfortable communicating with local law enforcement.

The policy also declines fulfilling ICE detainer requests. Johnson County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek said his office cooperates with ICE and provides requested information, but does not fulfill detainer requests without a court order.

"We’re not holding somebody beyond their court date or release date on a simple detainer request," he said. "A detainer request is just a document from the agency asking us to hold on to somebody beyond their release date, and that’s what the courts have ruled is unconstitutional."

As part of the Secure Communities program, fingerprints the sheriff's office and the Iowa City Police Department collect during an arrest are automatically sent to ICE and checked against the agency's database. A match can trigger a detainer request. If the office were contacted by federal immigration authorities asking about release dates, Pulkrabek said, the office would provide the date of the release.

In terms of federal funding, though, Pulkrabek said money the sheriff's office receives — about $30,000 to $50,000 annually — should not be at risk.

"I don’t think we’re in any sort of territory where we’re in any sort of danger of losing any sort of federal funding," he said, adding that the funding is used primarily for salary payments for members of the Johnson County Drug Task Force.

Iowa City Police Chief Jody Matherly directed his comments to Dilkes.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa also responded to Trump's order on Wednesday. Rita Bettis, legal director of the ACLU of Iowa, in a statement said the organization will work with its national office "to support law enforcement in suing the federal government should it attempt to enforce President Trump’s executive order."

"President Trump does not have the legal authority to unilaterally defund these jurisdictions that protect people’s rights and stay clear of the deportation business," Bettis said in the statement. "... Any attempt from the federal government to commandeer state and local governments into carrying out federal policies will violate the 10th Amendment, and attempts to coerce local entities into action by withholding funds violates the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution."

— Press-Citizen reporter Stephen Gruber-Miller contributed to this story. 

Reach Andy Davis at 319-887-5404 or at aldavis@press-citizen.com, and follow him on Twitter as @BylineAndyDavis.