A memo written by acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove is instructing prosecutors with the Justice Department to identify and investigate any state or local officials who “threaten to impede” President Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts.
Advertisement
Bove, who previously served as Trump’s defense attorney, notes that the policy changes are necessary with Pam Bondi’s nomination for Attorney General pending and executive orders tackling illegal immigration having already been signed.
First and foremost, the memo directs prosecutors to enforce the laws as laid out in the orders.
The DOJ is to “take all steps necessary to protect the public and secure the American border by removing illegal aliens from the country and prosecuting illegal aliens for crimes,” the memo states.
DOJ Memo 1/21/2025 by grusbf5 on Scribd
From there, Bove provides instruction as to dealing with state and/or local officials who try “resisting” deportation or other lawful illegal immigration enforcement efforts.
“Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands and requests,” the memo states.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Offices and litigating components of the Department of Justice shall investigate incidents involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution.”
Providing sanctuary could result in prosecution. America is back.
Bove’s directives cite an executive order signed by Trump on his first day in office titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.”
It provides new policy guidance for the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security reading in part:
Advertisement
It is the policy of the United States to faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens, particularly those aliens who threaten the safety or security of the American people. Further, it is the policy of the United States to achieve the total and efficient enforcement of those laws, including through lawful incentives and detention capabilities.
WILD: Denver Mayor Threatens ‘Tiananmen Square Moment’ If Trump Deports Illegal Immigrants
The DOJ memo points to the Supremacy Clause for justification of these new directives. In layman’s terms, the Clause states that federal law is essentially the law of the land.
Article VI, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution:
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
Several blue state governors, including California’s Gavin Newsom, New York’s Kathy Hochul, and Massachusetts’ Maura Healey, expressed staunch opposition to President Trump’s deportation plans and vowed to protect criminal illegal aliens in their states.
Advertisement
Perhaps the most famous declaration of resistance came from Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (D), who insisted he would instruct law enforcement to defend illegals in the city and compared such a move to Tiananmen Square.
Left of woke Mayor @MikeJohnstonCO saying that Denver residents and Denver Police will relive “the Tiananmen Square moment” and resist mass deportation. Mike Johnston is a delusional nutjob.https://t.co/OsBs25Rdz1 pic.twitter.com/GnvO6RIg2r
— Pathofmostresistance (@Pathofmostresi1) November 21, 2024
Johnston has since backed off those comments a bit, saying, “None of us want that” kind of confrontation.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), just weeks after the presidential election, predicted any Democrat officials such as Johnston who try to stop Trump’s deportation efforts would themselves be stopped.
“The mayor of Denver, if he’s going to resist federal law, which is a long-standing history of the supremacy of federal law, if he’s going to resist that, it will go all the way to the Supreme Court,” said Paul in an interview with “Face the Nation.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) says that the mayor of Denver will be removed from office if he resists federal law enforcement officials who are deporting illegal aliens: “It’s a form of insurrection” pic.twitter.com/P9e4fVxVxu
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) November 24, 2024
“I would suspect that he would be removed from office. I don’t know whether or not there’d be a criminal prosecution for someone resisting federal law, but he will lose,” Sen. Paul further warned. “People need to realize that what he is offering is a form of insurrection where the states resist the federal government.”
Advertisement
Oh, the irony in Trump being the one to quell an actual insurrection.
While it seems highly unlikely that these investigations will fall at the feet of these Democrat governors or mayors, people on their staff or law enforcement officials who provide sanctuary or aid illegals in escaping accountability could certainly face repercussions.
“Indeed, it is the responsibility of the Justice Department to defend the Constitution, and accordingly, to lawfully execute the policies that the American people elected President Trump to implement,” Bove writes in the memo.
A Justice Department that enforces immigration laws and defends the Constitution? What a novel concept.
