Philadelphia’s threat to prosecute ICE could trigger landmark court fight over authority, experts warn
The Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department and legal scholars laid out what could happen if Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner follows through on his promise to prosecute ICE...
By Fox News · Fox News
The Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department and legal scholars laid out what could happen if Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner follows through on his promise to prosecute ICE in the line of their duty, should operations in Pennsylvania reach a flashpoint. Last week, Krasner warned he would prosecute agents who "come to Philly to commit crimes" in an apparent reference to allegations an agent acted unlawfully in shooting a Minnesota woman who appeared to intentionally hit him with her car while disrupting an operation. Philadelphia County Sheriff Rochelle Bilal doubled down, calling ICE officers " fake, wannabe law enforcement " and warned them they "don’t want this smoke ‘cause we will bring it to you." GOP, DEMOCRATS CLASH ON CAPITOL HILL AS REPUBLICANS TARGET CARTELS AND DEMS PUSH TO CURB ICE PARTNERSHIPS Krasner argued President Donald Trump could not pardon arrested agents because any cases would be brought at the state level, leading Fox News Digital to ask officials and experts to weigh in on what the true case may be. César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, the chair of Civil Rights & Civil Liberties at Ohio State’s college of law, and an expert in immigration and criminal law that is at nexus in this case, said interfering with federal law enforcement carrying out their job duties is just as much of a crime as killing someone without legal justification. "Immigration agents are permitted to enforce federal immigration laws within any community in the United States, including Philadelphia, but local police officers there are equally authorized to investigate anyone who they suspect of having committed a violent crime." TOP REPUBLICAN REBUKES NOTIONS TO ARREST DHS AGENTS WITH PLAN TO PULL FUNDING FROM PROBLEM CITIES While federal and local authorities often work in tandem in important operations to deconflict potential flash points, Hernandez said that dynamic has "clearly broken down in cities like Minneapolis" and that Krasner’s co…