PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — District Attorney Larry Krasner has fired back at the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee after they had demanded information on the city’s immigration policies.
Their letters, also sent to the Philadelphia Police Department and the Sheriff's office, had claimed that their policies “prioritized criminal and illegal aliens” over American citizens and threatened public safety.
Krasner, drafting his own letter in response to Committee Chair Jim Jordan of Ohio and Tom McClintock of California, contends that their requests lack a legal and factual basis and that their claims are baseless.
“Looking back in history (except for your tenure as Republican leaders), it is quite unusual for Congress to involve itself with and inquire into matters of state and local law enforcement priority—matters which are, in this case, quintessential law enforcement and policing powers reserved to the City of Philadelphia and my Office. Your Letter's requests tread into this territory, one explicitly reserved to the states and local authorities,” Krasner wrote in a letter obtained by our newsgathering partners at NBC10.
He also accused them of making legal errors, which he described as “unsurprising.”
Krasner said he will need time to address each allegation in the initial letter.
Representatives for both the police department and the sheriff’s office did not comment on how they plan to handle the committee’s demands.
