Northeast
Philadelphia’s threat to prosecute ICE could trigger landmark court fight over authority, experts warn
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and legal scholars laid out what could happen if Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner follows through on his promise to prosecute ICE for acts committed in the line of their duty, should operations in Pennsylvania reach a flashpoint.
Last week, Krasner warned he would prosecute agents who “come to Philly to commit crimes” in an apparent reference to allegations an agent acted unlawfully in shooting a Minnesota woman who appeared to intentionally hit him with her car while disrupting an operation.
Philadelphia County Sheriff Rochelle Bilal doubled down, calling ICE officers “fake, wannabe law enforcement” and warned them they “don’t want this smoke ‘cause we will bring it to you.”
GOP, DEMOCRATS CLASH ON CAPITOL HILL AS REPUBLICANS TARGET CARTELS AND DEMS PUSH TO CURB ICE PARTNERSHIPS
Krasner argued President Donald Trump could not pardon arrested agents because any cases would be brought at the state level, leading Fox News Digital to ask officials and experts to weigh in on what the true case may be.
César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, the chair of Civil Rights & Civil Liberties at Ohio State’s college of law, and an expert in immigration and criminal law that is at nexus in this case, said interfering with federal law enforcement carrying out their job duties is just as much of a crime as killing someone without legal justification.
“Immigration agents are permitted to enforce federal immigration laws within any community in the United States, including Philadelphia, but local police officers there are equally authorized to investigate anyone who they suspect of having committed a violent crime.”
TOP REPUBLICAN REBUKES NOTIONS TO ARREST DHS AGENTS WITH PLAN TO PULL FUNDING FROM PROBLEM CITIES
While federal and local authorities often work in tandem in important operations to deconflict potential flash points, Hernandez said that dynamic has “clearly broken down in cities like Minneapolis” and that Krasner’s comments suggest it’s “frayed” in Philadelphia.
If trust is broken between local and federal authorities, actions like Krasner’s pledge may lead to court battles to determine supremacy.
Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano — a former professor of strategic studies at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle — predicted the feds would win any litigation due to the Supremacy Clause, which reads that “the supreme law of the land and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.”
ICE HEAD SAYS AGENTS FACING ‘CONSTANT IMPEDIMENTS’ AFTER MIGRANT SEEN RAMMING CARS WHILE TRYING TO FLEE
He added in recent comments to Fox News Digital that the “Constitution is not optional” and if Philadelphia officials think they can “bully” Washington, they will find out “that’s not how America works.”
Hernandez said, “It is absolutely clear that no one — not even federal law enforcement officers — can do anything they like in the course of carrying out their job duties.”
“The hard question is where the line is drawn. That is what courts are set up to do, but they can only play their part if law enforcement officials investigate what happened, then prosecutors dig in to see whether there is a legal basis for filing criminal charges.”
When asked how they would treat such a case, a Justice Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital the DOJ has a “zero-tolerance policy for violence against law enforcement and will hold offenders accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
A top attorney at the Washington investigative nonprofit Oversight Project said that Philadelphia officials have to be “bluffing.”
“Any local arrest of a federal law enforcement official for performing federal law enforcement functions would be blatantly unlawful. Any ICE agents would be immediately released and the local officials should face charges for obstructing federal law enforcement.”
“This is hornbook constitutional law that every law student in America learns early in their schooling,” he said, adding that residents in cities where prosecutors believe they can pursue federal agents deserve officials with a “basic rudimentary understanding of law.”
DHS also weighed in, saying that the city would have no legal leg to stand on if prosecutors were to decide to interfere in any Minneapolis-style operations on Broad Street.
“Enforcing federal immigration laws is a clear federal responsibility under Article I, Article II and the Supremacy clause,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
It would be up to Congress then to give local officials any carveouts, she suggested.
MINNESOTA AG SAYS ‘THERE IS NO STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ON MURDER’ AFTER FATAL ICE SHOOTING OF RENEE GOOD
Philadelphia County Sheriff Rochelle Bilal, center, speaks as DA Larry Krasner, left, listens. (Office of Philadelphia County Sheriff)
“Our law enforcement is enforcing federal law — if politicians and activists don’t like the law, they should try to change it instead of demonizing our brave men and women in uniform.”
McLaughlin said Philadelphia is not alone in anti-enforcement rhetoric, and laid out the stakes of what kind of lawlessness could have continued in Pennsylvania if her agency hadn’t already begun taking criminal illegal immigrants off the streets.
She pointed to DHS’ recent capture of Yehia Badawi, an Egyptian illegal immigrant convicted of aggravated assault and robbery in Philadelphia.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
McLaughlin also shared the names of a Cuban drug trafficker, a Cambodian methamphetamine dealer and several other illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes, including rape.
Krasner’s office did not return a request for comment, and Bilal referred further questions to the DA after a spokesperson told Fox News Digital that lawmakers in Harrisburg do not decide who gets arrested in Philadelphia.
Read the full article from Here
Boston, MA
Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony suffers another injury setback
It’s going to be a little while longer before Roman Anthony returns to action.
The Red Sox outfielder has suffered another setback in his recovery from a sprained right hand and will be shut down from swinging for a couple of days.
Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy told reporters in Cleveland that Anthony tried hitting off a tee Thursday for the first time since suffering his injury on May 4, but that he found doing so to be painful.
“He hit off the tee (yesterday) and had some discomfort, so we’re going to slow play it,” Tracy said, per MLB.com’s Henry Palattella. “It’s going to be day-to-day, or even the better way is ‘action-to-action.’ (We’re going to be asking), ‘What did he do today, is that uncomfortable and do we have to wait?’ ”
Originally thought to be a minor issue that might not even require a stint on the injured list, Anthony has now missed 21 games and likely won’t be back until early-to-mid June.
The recovery process has also been halting. Anthony has continued doing most other baseball activities, including running and throwing, but it wasn’t until earlier this week that he could swing a bat free of discomfort.
Once he was able to comfortably take dry swings — or swing a bat without hitting the ball — the next step was hitting off a tee. Now he’ll be given a couple more days to heal and likely won’t try again until the Red Sox return home from Cleveland and are back at Fenway Park on Tuesday following Monday’s off day.
Tracy acknowledged that the recovery hasn’t gone as smoothly as expected, but emphasized that isn’t because of anything Anthony’s done wrong.
“That’s not Roman’s fault, it’s not anyone’s fault,” Tracy said. “It’s just he got hurt, and it’s a nagging injury on a hand when he’s trying to hit.”
Speaking to Rob Bradford on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast prior to Thursday’s game against the Atlanta Braves, Anthony clarified the exact nature of his injury, which was officially announced by the team as a right wrist sprain. Anthony said he has a partially torn ring finger ligament, specifically his ring finger CMC (carpometacarpal).
The sprain versus torn verbiage has generated some confusion among fans, though medically there isn’t a meaningful distinction between the two.
“I know stuff came out yesterday about tear versus sprain versus strain and all these different things, and I don’t know what to say other than any of those are a tear,” Tracy said. “You strain a hamstring and that’s a partial tear; fibers let go a little bit and they need to heal.
“I don’t think anything is portrayed differently or wrongly. If a guy strains his hamstring, I won’t come out here and say he tore his hamstring. That’s not how that works.”
Prior to suffering his injury, Anthony was batting .229 with one home run and a .675 OPS through his first 30 games this season.
Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburg man accused of hotel kidnapping, assault enters plea deal
Enter your email and we’ll send a secure one-click link to sign in.
KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com is provided by Nexstar Media Group, Inc., and uses the My Nexstar sign-in, which works across our media network.
Learn more at nexstar.tv/privacy-policy.
KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com is provided by Nexstar Media Group, Inc., and uses the My Nexstar sign-in, which works across our media network.
Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is a leading, diversified media company that produces and distributes engaging local and national news, sports, and entertainment content across its television and digital platforms. The My Nexstar sign-in works across the Nexstar network—including The CW, NewsNation, The Hill, and more. Learn more at nexstar.tv/privacy-policy.
Connecticut
Are high gas prices fueling rise in Connecticut deadly motorcycle crashes?
Skip to content
Contact Us
-
Politics1 second ago
Fire-prone California could lose hundreds of millions of dollars for wildfire prevention
-
Sports10 minutes agoSouthern California sprinters scorch CIF state prelims, setting up record-chasing finals
-
World22 minutes agoZelenskyy warns Russia may be preparing ‘massive’ new attack
-
News45 minutes agoTrump’s doctor recommends he lose weight and exercise more but says he is in ‘excellent health’ | CNN Politics
-
Los Angeles, Ca2 hours agoMan arrested for multiple Los Angeles freeway shootings: CHP
-
Detroit, MI3 hours ago
Archdiocese of Detroit’s list of parishes chosen for halted Masses grows
-
San Francisco, CA3 hours agoGiants reassign 3B coach Borg; Wotus named interim replacement
-
Dallas, TX3 hours agoVigil honors victims of Dallas apartment explosion that killed three and injured five