The White House Should Go Back To Its Crackdown On Sanctuary Officials

The apparent walk back came during a White House briefing last week, when I specifically queried Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about sanctuary-jurisdiction officials, including Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, a Democrat, who was reportedly seen participating in a violent anti-ICE protest in the sanctuary state of Illinois.

When I mentioned Biss and asked Leavitt if the administration has “plans to start arresting sanctuary mayors or governors going forwards,” she responded: “Unless they commit a crime, I don’t see them being arrested, but if they are violating federal law, if they are violating state law, then, of course, they should be arrested by state and local law enforcement.”

Biss had reportedly joined a large group of agitators who laid siege to the ICE Broadview processing facility in the Chicago suburbs on Sept. 19. (Biss took issue with being named in the question, offering the following response on social media: “Unidentified ICE agents are snatching neighbors off the street and intimidating peaceful protesters while right-wing media spreads false narratives and even suggests my arrest. Nonviolent protest is core to our democracy and I won’t be silenced.”)