The Trump administration’s Attorney General, Pam Bondi, is showing daily that she’s not someone to be trifled with. Previously the Attorney General of Ron DeSantis’s Florida, she is engaging sanctuary state jurisdictions over their protection of illegal aliens, having (to date) filed lawsuits against Illinois and New York. Predictably, the governors of those states are whining about it; AG Bondi issued a wonderful three-word reply,
Attorney General Pam Bondi said President Donald Trump’s administration will “find illegal aliens” and “deport them in Illinois, New York and other states,” in her latest warning to Democratic governors.
“You better comply with federal law, or you will be next,” Bondi said on Friday during an appearance on “America Reports” with co-anchors Sandra Smith and John Roberts. Bondi was asked by Smith if there was anything that altered or prioritized some of her initial goals since being sworn into her position on Feb. 5.
Bondi explained that taking the Department of Justice back to its “prime major function” of “fighting violent crime” was initially her top priority. But she also mentioned that government waste and drug cartels were at the top of her list as well.
She is, as per President Trump’s direction, doing her part to clamp down on these sanctuary jurisdictions that are not only ignoring but are in fact defying federal immigration laws. Democrats loved the federal control over immigration when Texas, out of frustration over the Biden administration’s inaction, started building their own border walls. But when a city or state is sheltering illegal aliens? That’s a different story, and the federal law must be defied.
Principals, not principles.
AG Bondi has filed lawsuits against New York and Illinois to force compliance. New York Governor Kathy Hochul had some sharp comments about the lawsuits, but AG Bondi promptly slam-dunked her with three well-chosen words.
Bondi was questioned about New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s pushback against the Trump administration’s lawsuit against her state for failure to comply with federal immigration laws. The blue state leader declared on Feb. 12 in an official statement that “we expect Pam Bondi’s worthless, publicity-driven lawsuit to be a total failure, just like all the others.”
Bondi’s response was direct.
“Bring it on,” she said on “America Reports”.
That’s how it’s done.
See Related: BREAKING: AG Pam Bondi Files ‘Charges’ Against State of NY, Gov. Hochul Over Illegal Aliens
CPAC 2025: Sen. Ted Cruz ‘Verdict’ Podcast With AG Pam Bondi—Getting the DOJ Back to Its ‘Core Function’
These cases will have to be fought out in court and are likely to go to the Supreme Court, with both parties having the considerable power of their offices behind them. Predictions are hard to make, especially about the future, but AG Bondi would seem to have the advantage here. The federal government was originally intended to be restricted within some pretty tight constitutional guidelines, but immigration is one function of government that the federal government was intended to handle from the beginning. There are activist judges who will side with New York and Illinois, will will likely require appeal, but we can hope that these lawsuits will stick a pin in the whole idea of sanctuary jurisdictions.
A permanent fix to this problem will require a legislative solution. The GOP currently holds a narrow majority in both houses, but there’s no time like the present to at least make the attempt. Both parties have talked up the need for serious immigration reform, but the GOP should not agree to any such reform that does not include federal consequences, such as loss of federal funds – for anything – for any self-proclaimed sanctuary cities or states.
