Trump sues California over immigration laws

WASHINGTON—The Justice Department sued the state of California on Tuesday over three state laws that protect illegal immigrants from deportation. Trump administration officials argued the three laws, all passed by the state legislature last year, promote sanctuary policies to circumvent federal immigration law—violating the U.S. Constitution’s supremacy clause. “The Department of Justice and the Trump administration are going to fight these unjust, unfair, and unconstitutional policies that are imposed on you,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions planned to tell a meeting of the California Peace Officers Association in Sacramento on Wednesday, according to excerpts of his prepared remarks. “We are fighting to make your jobs safer and to help you reduce crime in America. And I believe that we are going to win.” The contested California laws forbid businesses from voluntarily assisting federal immigration officials to locate undocumented immigrants, and prohibit local law enforcement from alerting the federal agents when they detain illegal immigrants. The Justice Department’s lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Sacramento, is the Trump administration’s largest crackdown on sanctuary policies to date. The case will test the White House’s authority to force local governments to adhere to its will. “At a time of unprecedented political turmoil, Jeff Sessions has come to California to further divide and polarize America,” Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown tweeted on Tuesday. “Jeff, these political stunts may be the norm in Washington, but they don’t work here.”