Sanctuary cities’ get-out-of-jail fail

Advocates sell sanctuary policies as a public-safety boon. Keep local police out of immigration enforcement, they argue, and immigrant communities will trust cops, report crime, and make everyone safer. But New York, Fairfax County, Virginia, and Chicago tell a different story.

When local authorities refuse to transfer removable criminal aliens already in jail, they do not neutralize danger. They return it to the streets, where law-abiding residents become prey.

Order requires one standard in the jail and courthouse, not a local veto over federal custody. Sanctuary policies reverse those priorities.

New York is making a strong bid to become America’s leading sanctuary snake pit. In May, Governor Kathy Hochul (D) signed the “Local Cops, Local Crimes Act,” which bans 287(g) agreements and contracts to house civil immigration detainees.