Mayor of newest sanctuary city calls police ‘occupying force’

Lansing, Michigan Mayor Virgil Bernero is scrambling to justify the city’s sanctuary status for illegal immigrants, and he’s invoking some looney excuses for defying federal immigration laws.

Bernero, a union-backed Democrat defeated by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder in 2010, appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight to discuss the city’s move to become the state’s first sanctuary city.

The Lansing City Council voted unanimously Monday night to protect to defy the Trump administration’s immigration policies despite clear warnings from Attorney General Jeff Sessions about lost federal funding for sanctuary cities.

“The resolution reaffirmed the city’s status as a ‘welcoming city’ to immigrants and refugees and then added the sanctuary status,” The Detroit News reports. “It means the city directs its police and staff not to ask about anyone’s immigration status unless otherwise required to by federal or state law, or by a court order.”

Carlson asked Bernero why he would risk federal funding for the city by ignoring the federal law, and the mayor said immigration “is not a priority for us” and “it’s about building bridges, and not walls.”

Bernero said local law enforcement doesn’t want to be viewed as an “occupying force.”

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