Sanctuary ... not!(National Affairs) (rule of Federal law)

• Author: Emord, Jonathan W.

"... After [Pres. Donald] Trump is sworn into office, his first move should be to demand compliance with Federal law and warn that any state or local official who stands in the way of Federal law enforcement will be arrested and prosecuted. "

CHICAGO Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the mayors of several other cities across the U.S. are the first to challenge Pres.-elect Donald Trump on his willingness to uphold the rule of law. Emanuel threw down the gauntlet by declaring defiantly that "Chicago will always be a sanctuary city." On Ian. 20, after Trump is sworn into office, his first move should be to demand compliance with Federal law and warn that any state or local official who stands in the way of Federal law enforcement will be arrested and prosecuted.

The example he should follow is that of Pres. Ronald Reagan in 1981. Confronted with a comparable flagrant violation of Federal law, Reagan told the striking members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization--the now-defiinct union decertified as a result of its violation of 5 USC Section 118p (since recodified at 5 USC Section 7311)--that they would be fired if they did not return to work.

Indeed, Reagan defended the rule of law against PATCO despite the fact that it was the only union that formally endorsed his candidacy for the presidency. Each Federal employee, including each PATCO member, swore an oath not to go on strike. PATCO members went on strike Aug. 3 at 7 a.m. By 10:55 a.m., Reagan appeared before reporters stating that all PATCO members who did not return to work within 48 hours would be fired. On Aug. 5, 11,345 PATCO members did not return to work. Reagan fired them all and banned them from employment in the Federal government for the remainder of their lives.

The showdown Emanuel and other likeminded mayors--and college and university presidents who boast of their "sanctuary campuses"--seek from Trump should come in a rapid and immediate fashion, without fanfare. Upon assuming office, Pres. Trump should announce that sanctuary cities (and campuses) violate Federal law and that any official who impedes Federal law enforcement officers endeavoring to enforce the nation's immigration laws will be arrested and prosecuted. He should then direct the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency to arrest and deport all persons who are in the U.S. illegally, beginning with those who have criminal records.

By so doing, Pres. Trump will ensure that the states and cities no...