Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill is threatening Louisiana residents and public officials alike with criminal charges if they interfere with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents when they begin their operations in the state next week. That email seemingly targets New Orleans officials, whom Murrill has previously accused of turning New Orleans into a "sanctuary city."
Border Patrol and ICE are expected to begin their immigration crackdown next Monday.
In an email, Murrill warned that impeding those agents could lead to state officials pressing obstruction of justice and/or malfeasance in office charges.
"Be Advised: It is against Louisiana law to obstruct ICE or Border Patrol," Murrill wrote in that email. "The penalty for Obstruction of Justice or Malfeasance in Office may include imprisonment with hard labor and thousands of dollars in fines."
Murrill then cites the law detailing what constitutes obstruction of justice, which state that anyone who "knowingly (commits) any act intended to hinder, delay, prevent, or otherwise interfere with or thwart federal immigration enforcement efforts" is in violation of the law.
Murrill also quotes the law detailing malfeasance in office. Under that law, any public official who "knowingly releases a person, following arrest or booking, from state, parish, or local law enforcement custody without providing advance notice to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement that the law enforcement agency effecting release is aware that the person either illegally entered or unlawfully remained in the United States," could face charges. In addition, the law prohibits public officials from "(taking) any official action, (failing) to perform an official duty, or (refusing) a lawful request for cooperation submitted by either United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Customs and Border Protection, or United States Citizenship and Immigration Services with the intent to hinder, delay, prevent, or otherwise interfere, ignore, or thwart federal immigration enforcement efforts").
Murrill also quoted Louisiana's law against so-called sanctuary cities, which prohibits "a state entity, law enforcement agency, or local governmental entity" from adopting a "sanctuary policy."
In February, Murrill filed a motion in federal court that sought to force the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office to enforce ICE criminal warrants and immigration detainers and to investigate the immigration status of inmates in the Orleans Parish Jail. Sheriff's office officials say the federal consent decree governing the agency bans ICE agents from interviewing OPSO inmates without a court order and from accepting ICE criminal warrants.
Also in February, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams told CBS News that the parish "only cooperates with ICE in cases of undocumented immigrants accused of violent crimes."