U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions warns Sanctuary Cities: Turn over Illegal Immigrant Criminals to ICE or loose Federal Grant Awards

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions delivered remarks March 27, 2017 announcing that sanctuary cities and other jurisdictions that do not turn over illegal immigrant criminals to ICE will loose Federal Grant Awards.

Good afternoon.  The Department of Justice has a duty to enforce our nation’s laws, including our immigration laws. Those laws require us to promptly remove aliens when they are convicted of certain crimes.

The vast majority of the American people support this common-sense requirement.  According to one recent poll, 80 percent of Americans believe that cities that arrest illegal immigrants for crimes should be required to turn them over to immigration authorities.

Unfortunately, some states and cities have adopted policies designed to frustrate the enforcement of our immigration laws.  This includes refusing to detain known felons under federal detainer requests, or otherwise failing to comply with these laws.  For example, the Department of Homeland Security recently issued a report showing that in a single week, there were more than 200 instances of jurisdictions refusing to honor Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer requests with respect to individuals charged or convicted of a serious crime.  The charges and convictions against these aliens include drug trafficking, hit and run, rape, sex offenses against a child and even murder.

Such policies cannot continue.  They make our nation less safe by putting dangerous criminals back on our streets.

We all remember the tragic case of Kate Steinle, the 32-year-old woman who was shot and killed two years ago in San Francisco as she walked along a pier with her father.  The shooter, Francisco Sanchez, was an illegal immigrant who had already been deported five times and had seven felony convictions.

Just eleven weeks before the shooting, San Francisco had released Sanchez from its custody, even though ICE had filed a detainer requesting that he be kept in custody until immigration authorities could pick him up for removal.
Even worse, Sanchez admitted that the only reason he came to San Francisco was because of its sanctuary policies.

A similar story unfolded just last week, when Ever Valles, an illegal immigrant and Mexican national, was charged with murder and robbery of a man at a light rail station.  Valles was released from a Denver jail in late December, despite the fact that ICE had lodged a detainer for his removal.

The American people are justifiably angry.  They know that when cities and states refuse to help enforce immigration laws, our nation is less safe.  Failure to deport aliens who are convicted for criminal offenses puts whole communities at risk – especially immigrant communities in the very sanctuary jurisdictions that seek to protect the perpetrators.

DUIs, assaults, burglaries, drug crimes, gang crimes, rapes, crimes against children and murders.  Countless Americans would be alive today – and countless loved ones would not be grieving today – if the policies of these sanctuary jurisdictions were ended.

Not only do these policies endanger the lives of every American; just last May, the Department of Justice Inspector General found that these policies also violate federal law.

The President has rightly said that this disregard for the law must end.  In his executive order, he stated that it is the policy of the executive branch to ensure that states and cities comply with all federal laws, including our immigration laws.

The order also states that “the Attorney General and the Secretary [of Homeland Security] . . . shall ensure that jurisdictions that willfully refuse to comply” with the law “are not eligible to receive Federal grants, except as deemed necessary for law enforcement purposes by the Attorney General or the Secretary.”

Today I am urging all states and local jurisdictions to comply with all federal laws, including 8 U.S.C. Section 1373.  Moreover, the Department of Justice will require jurisdictions seeking or applying for Department grants to certify compliance with Section 1373 as a condition for receiving these awards.

This policy is entirely consistent with the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) guidance issued last July under the previous administration.  This guidance requires state and local jurisdictions to comply and certify compliance with Section 1373 in order to be eligible for OJP grants.  It also made clear that failure to remedy violations could result in withholding of grants, termination of grants, and disbarment or ineligibility for future grants.

The Department of Justice will also take all lawful steps to claw-back any funds awarded to a jurisdiction that willfully violates Section 1373.

In the current fiscal year, department’s OJP and Community Oriented Policing Services anticipate awarding more than $4.1 billion dollars in grants.

I urge our nation’s states and cities to consider carefully the harm they are doing to their citizens by refusing to enforce our immigration laws, and to re-think these policies.  Such policies make their cities and states less safe, and put them at risk of losing valuable federal dollars.

The American people want and deserve a lawful immigration system that keeps us safe and serves our national interest.  This expectation is reasonable, and our government has a duty to meet it. And we will meet it.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions
Office of the Attorney General

March 27, 2017 Speech: Attorney General Jeff Sessions Delivers Remarks Announcing Sanctuary Jurisdictions

Watch Attorney General Jeff Sessions deliver his remarks at the 3/27/17 White House Press Briefing via Captain Rick’s Making America Great Again YouTube Playlist

March 20, 2017 Press Release: Statement by Attorney General Jeff Sessions on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Declined Detainer Outcome Report

Incompetent U.S. Congress ‘kicks can’ . . . and ‘passes buck’ to next President and Congress . . . Passes short-term spending bill to fund Federal Government thru Dec 9

Captain Rick: The Senate and House passed a short-term spending bill that prevented a government shutdown at the end of the week. It has White House backing.

This legislation allows Congress to ‘kick the can down the road’ until after America elects a new President and new members of Congress. With a bunch of ‘lame ducks’ residing in congress at that time, you can bet they will again ‘kick the can down the road’ with another short-term spending bill to fund the government until after a new President and Congress take office in January. That’s when the excitement begins …

Fights over raising the debt limit broke out between the Obama White House and ruling Republicans in Congress in 2011 and 2013, unsettling Wall Street and foreign investors. The two sides struck a deal in 2015 to suspend the debt limit until Obama left office. The federal debt limit has been suspended since late 2015, but the law is set to be reinstated on March 16, 2017. The current debt limit of $20.1 trillion will be breached and another funding emergency will be at hand to prevent another U.S. government shutdown.

Government shutdowns in the past have become a ‘joke’ in that certain federal employees are told to stay home without pay, until Congress passed legislation to fund the government, which often included increasing the national debt and awarded compensation for all lost pay … meaning their time off was really an extra paid vacation; an insult to hard working employees of ‘Main Street’ America. The ‘Shutdown Game’ can not continue much longer because America is coming ever so close to falling off of the real and pending ‘Fiscal Cliff’. Many federal programs like Obamacare, Medicaid, Medicare and even Social Security are projected to implode in coming years without serious spending/taxation reform.

The U.S. National Debt has more than doubled since President Obama took office; from $9 trillion to $19.5 today. It is exploding at rate of $1.35 trillion each year. More than $10 trillion of ‘red ink debt dollars’ have been spent to keep the federal government functioning during the Obama Administration.

About 15% of money spent by the federal government has no revenue to support the expenditure and thus adds to the national debt. Much of this debt spending goes to states and cities in the form of federal grants. Our states and cities ‘drink up’ the grants like it is ‘free money coming from heaven’. Their philosophy is ‘if we don’t get the grant, some other city or state will’. What an awesomely greedy and fiscally reckless way to think. Shame on every city and state in America for slurping up these slush grants which add to the mushrooming U.S. National Debt. Our cities and states are a main contributors to the growing problem of America’s National Debt … debt which will be placed upon future generations to pay back … including our children and grand children. It’s a serious matter to think about.

I hope the next President and Congress will begin to balance the budget and curtail deficit spending. Saving America from falling off of the real and pending ‘Fiscal Cliff’, will not be easy. It will require ‘belt tightening’ by people, cities and states across America and most importantly by the U.S. Federal Government and our elected representatives in the U.S. Congress.

World Stock Markets Plummet into Correction Zone … Is a Market Crash Looming?

Captain Rick : Stock markets around the world plummeted into correction territory on Monday, August 24. China’s Shanghai composite plummeted 8.5% followed with an additional 7.6% plunge on Tuesday, accumulating a 16% loss in two days. The Dow took an unprecedented 1,089 point dive at Monday’s opening bell, causing investors to wonder if this was the beginning of a market crash. The Dow has now lost 13% from recent highs. Most major stock markets around the world are down over 10%, considered to be the threshold that signals an official market correction.

This market correction is significant in magnitude. It is almost as big as the 2011 correction, which was the biggest correction since the global market crash of 2008, when the Dow bottomed at a 54% loss. This market correction has caused the average 401K retirement account to loose $10,000 in the past few weeks. It has erased billions of dollars of value from the world’s major corporations. 

What is triggering this stock market correction?

Primarily, concerns about global economic growth — especially in the world’s No. 2 economy, China, after it unexpectedly devalued its currency. China’s Shanghai Composite suffered its worst loss in more than 8 years, which takes us back in time prior to the 2008 global market crash. This concerns investors because China is one of the biggest financiers of U.S. debt. If China stops funding Americas debt spending, where will Uncle Sam get its money to fund the countless federal grants it dishes out to keep the economy chugging along? Additionally, oil prices are down under $40 a barrel, hitting a 6 1/2-year low. While this is great news for drivers needing to buy fuel, it is taking a heavy toll on profits for the big oil corporations.

What is the long term stock market prognosis?

Perhaps the biggest concern of all is the extremely fragile financial structure of the United States. Intelligent investors realize that the U.S. is teetering at the edge of the real ‘fiscal cliff’ with lots of serious fiscal challenges that lie ahead … like uncontrolled spending far beyond its means, causing the U.S. national debt to soar past $18 trillion, dwarfing all other countries debt. And then there are the giant fiscal time bombs that continue to tick … Medicaid via Obamacare, Medicare and Social Security. Who knows what could spook the market to take the big plunge? The only things we can all be sure of is that ‘what goes up, eventually comes down’ and ‘time is of the essence’ because of the extremely ‘shaky fiscal ground’ that the entire world stands on … especially the United States of America.

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Your comment is welcome and will be greatly appreciated,
Captain Rick

3 Gilbert Arizona Councilmembers achieve Proper Vote Award to stop Federal Grant spending that grows the U.S. National Debt

Captain Rick: Our cities welcome federal grant money, thinking the federal government has an endless supply of money that can be spent on anything its heart desires. The fact is the U.S. general fund is bankrupt, spending $1.1 trillion more than revenue received. Most federal grant dollars dished out by HUD are dollars printed with red ink…that add directly to the U.S. National Debt. Its time local government says NO to spending this red ink.

Three Gilbert Arizona Councilmembers have come forward to set an example for America to follow by placing their vote of NO for receiving federal grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). They are American pioneers. I hope other state and local representatives across America will pay attention to their lead and join the journey to save America form fiscal ruin.

The issue presented to the Gilbert, Arizona Town Council on April 4, 2013: Item 20: HUD Federal Grant of $748,764 for the benefit of low/medium income residents and to alleviate conditions of slum and blight, of which 20% ($149,753) is approved for administrative costs.

Councilmember statements presented during the meeting

 Jared Taylor

We have 16.8 trillion in national debt. Every day since Sep 28, 2007 we have added $3.86 billion to our national debt. The money for this appropriation doesn’t really exist. It may be something that congress passes on a bill, but the United States government is absolutely broke at the federal level. The local and state levels have constitutions and statutes that require us to have balanced budgets. The national government doesn’t and the are running massive deficits and so while they pass these allocations that say there is money available, it doesn’t exist. We are borrowing money from the Federal Reserve and its loaned money from China. That concerns me. What we are doing is putting a future burden on our children and that is not fair.

 Eddie Cook

The federal government doesn’t have the money. If we believe these are things we need to do, lets do it on our own dime…our own money. Taking federal money is just not the right decision at this point.

 Victor Petersen

Where we have power, we have responsibility. Tonight we have power over some of those funds. If we are going to participate in that federal spending, I don’t think it’s a good choice and I don’t think we can resolve ourselves of that responsibility. We need to temper our anxiety. If we do that I think we loose our moral position to complain about spending at the federal government.

Captain Rick’s PROPER VOTE Award: I have awarded Councilmembers Petersen, Taylor and Cook for their ‘Proper Vote’ of ‘NO’. Their awards have been added to my Gilbert Council Scorecard:

Captain Rick’s Gilbert Council Scorecard: My scorecard keeps track of all of the ‘Proper Votes’ from previous important and controversial votes:  https://atridim.wordpress.com/gilbert-council-scorecard/

I welcome your comments, likes, shares and following of my blog! (If not visible, click the red title above)

Info from previous reports:

Federal Grants: https://atridim.wordpress.com/category/federal-grants/

U.S. Debt Crisis: https://atridim.wordpress.com/category/u-s-debt-crisis/

Fiscal Cliff 101: https://atridim.wordpress.com/category/fiscal-cliff-course-101/

Federal Grants: Driving America broke … Money from the ‘Black Hole’ … that adds directly to increasing the U.S. National Debt

Captain Rick: Federal grants are a good thing when they are funded by real money … but the fact is many of America’s federal grants come from money that does not exist and adds directly to the U.S. national debt. Many federal grants are robbing the future of our children and grandchildren by burdening them with monumental debt.

U.S. Budget Facts

U.S. Tax Revenue: $2.5 trillion
U.S. Spending: $3.6 trillion
U.S. Deficit: $1.1 trillion

U.S. Budget Details

Obligated expenses (backed by U.S. law)
Social Security: $781 billion (dedicated funded from the Social Security 6.2% payroll tax)
Medicare: $419 billion (dedicated funding from the Medicare 1.45% payroll tax)
Medicaid: $400 billion (a social welfare program, using money from the federal general fund)
Interest on National Debt: $223 billion (mandatory debt payment to prevent U.S. default)
Federal Pensions: $216 billion (includes civilian and military retirement benefits and veteran benefits)
Sub total: $2 trillion (this leaves only $500 billion for all other expenses before consuming all U.S. tax revenue)

Discretionary expenses:
Defense/Wars: $664 billon
Income Security: $352 billion (incudes unemployment compensation, various welfare programs such as family support and nutrition programs and earned income credits)
Other (including Federal Grants): $500 billion
Grand total: $3.6 trillion (a deficit of $1.1 trillion)

Conclusion: it is obvious that unless America wants to totally eliminate all money spent on defense, wars, unemployment, family welfare, etc. there is no tax revenue left to spend on any federal grant of any kind.

U.S. National Debt

America’s debt is now at a staggering $16.8 trillion and rising at a high rate of speed.
America’s debt represents a debt of $53,277 for every person in America…$148,265 for every tax payer.

Its time for everyone in America realize the seriousness of America’s debt crisis … including local and state politicians who love to accept those federal grant dollars that come from the ‘black hole’ and add directly to the U.S. National Debt.

Federal Grants 101

In the United States, federal grants are economic aid issued by the United States government out of the general federal revenue. A federal grant is an award of financial assistance from a federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of the United States.

Some federal grants like those from the U.S. Department of Transportation for roads and transportation projects are partially funded by dedicated fuel and tire taxes, however the balance (about 1/3) comes from the general fund which is supported primarily by federal income taxes via tax returns. On the other hand, federal grants like community development block grants (CDBG) from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), have little or no dedicated tax funding and are mostly paid for by money in the general fund. Because the U.S. general fund runs a negative balance of $1.1 trillion each year…in essence, all federal grants not specifically funded by special taxes are adding directly to the U.S. national debt.

Federal grants are defined and governed by the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act of 1977, as incorporated in Title 31 Section 6304 of the U.S. Code.

A Federal grant is a
legal instrument reflecting the relationship between the United States Government and a State, a local government, or other entity when
1) the principal purpose of the relationship is to transfer a thing of value to the State or local government or other recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of the United States instead of acquiring (by purchase, lease, or barter) property or services for the direct benefit or use of the United States Government; and
2) substantial involvement is not expected between the executive agency and the State, local government, or other recipient when carrying out the activity contemplated in the agreement.”

Types of grants
Block grants are large grants provided from the federal government to state or local governments for use in a general purpose.
Project grants are grants given by the government to fund research projects, such as a research project for medical purposes.
Formula grants provide funds as dictated by a law. Categorical grants may be spent only for narrowly defined purposes and recipients often must match a portion of the federal funds.
33% of categorical grants are considered to be formula grants. About 90% of federal aid dollars are spent for categorical grants.
Earmark grants are explicitly specified in appropriations of the U.S. Congress.
They are not competitively awarded and have become highly controversial because of the heavy involvement of paid political lobbyists used in securing them.

I welcome your comments, likes, shares and following of my blog! (If not visible, click the red title above)

Info from previous reports:

Federal Grants: https://atridim.wordpress.com/category/federal-grants/

U.S. Debt Crisis: https://atridim.wordpress.com/category/u-s-debt-crisis/

Fiscal Cliff 101: https://atridim.wordpress.com/category/fiscal-cliff-course-101/

Gilbert Council PROPER VOTE: Vote of ‘NO’ to Not Use Federal Grant Money to fund bike and pedestrian facilities

Gilbert, Arizona Council Meeting: September 6, 2012

Item 20: GRANT– consider authorizing application of Grants from the US Department of Transportation’s Congestion Mitigation Air Quality Program for congestion mitigation and air quality improvements related to bicycle and pedestrian facilities, intelligent transportation systems and Particulate Matter-10 paving.

Councilmembers who cast the PROPER VOTE of ‘NO‘:

Victor Petersen, Eddie Cook, Jordan Ray

During the meeting I heard these important words from Councilmember Victor Petersen: “It breaks my heart that we continue to ask the federal government for money when they are so bankrupt, its out of control. If it’s a critical thing we can’t do without, or is highly urgent…otherwise I think we can wait for them and try to fund them ourselves, rather than to ask for more money from the federal government.”

Those words rang a bell in my heart. They accurately summed up the how I feel about the terrible fiscal situation in America with it facing the ‘Fiscal Cliff’ very soon. I invited Councilmember Victor Petersen to expound for this presentation. Victor graciously replied:

Councilmember Victor Petersen: “I can’t, in good conscience, ask the federal government for money when they have none to give. On the receiving end of grants, it’s easy to say that if we don’t spend it here, they will just spend it somewhere else. However, on the giving end of the grants, where we are agree that most of the problem lies, it’s just as easy for them to say that they aren’t actually spending the money; they are just making it available to the local governments. If the locals don’t need it, they won’t spend it. At the end of the day, no one is willing to take responsibility and that is the problem. Well, we are responsible for that which is in our control, and we can stop asking for the money. There are a lot of other considerations on this issue that deserve addressing, but for the sake of brevity, I will leave it at that.”

Captain Rick: Victor’s words ‘hit the nail on the head’ and were well said. During the meeting, I heard a statement by a council member who voted ‘yes’ that I found a bit troubling: ”This is one of the few funded mandates from the federal government.” The federal government is broke. It has no money to mandate Gilbert to spend. We all need to realize the federal spending party is over. America is facing the ‘Fiscal Cliff’. If we do not address it head on now, we will soon witness America becoming a third world country. Gilbert should set a fiscally responsible example for America, not follow the federal government’s path to destruction.

I have updated the Gilbert Council PROPER VOTE Scorecard to show the new totals:  https://atridim.wordpress.com/gilbert-council-scorecard/

Watch the discussion leading up to the PROPER VOTE at marker 1:33