At least a half dozen states including Colorado, North Carolina and Virginia are said to be reviewing their legal options against the administration.

According to CBSN Pittsburgh, a source with knowledge of the matter confirmed Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is in touch with other attorneys general to figure out next steps, including possible legal action.

“We will not be deterred by Donald Trump’s blatant attempts to undermine the integrity of our elections. We are exploring all options available to ensure everyone’s vote is counted,” Healey said in a statement on Sunday.

Today, Attorney General Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania tweeted that he spoke with NPR about “Trump’s latest attempt to sow doubt in our elections.”

“We’re not letting that happen. I’m doing everything in my power to protect the USPS and ensure every vote is secure, protected, and counted,” Shapiro said in a tweet Monday.

This morning I joined @NPR to talk about Trump's latest attempt to sow doubt in our elections.

We're not letting it happen. I'm doing everything in my power to protect the USPS and ensure every vote is secure, protected, and counted. https://t.co/wZXl8C1R70

— Josh Shapiro (@JoshShapiroPA) August 17, 2020

New Jersey’s Office of the Attorney General told CNN in a statement, “Attorney General (Gurbir) Grewal is deeply concerned by recent reports of potential political interference in the operations of the U.S. Postal Service. As is our standard practice, we are neither going to confirm nor deny a grand jury investigation.”

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Friday, “We’re considering all options, including legal options against the President and the postmaster general.”

You can read: Pennsylvania asks Supreme Court to extend e-mail voting deadlines

Griswold noted that there are different types of obstacles that the administration is using to sabotage the process.

“There are a lot of barriers being put up from the administration ,whether that’s trying to force Americans to risk their very lives to cast a ballot, to meddling with the Post Office, sabotaging the way we deliver mail, to falsehoods and lies about vote by mail,” Griswold said on AC360 on Friday.

Griswold even went so far as to compare the situation with procedures used by dictatorial regimes.

“So, I just think it’s so important that every elected official, every elections official and every American citizen start sounding the alarm. The rhetoric coming out of the White House is something that you hear under dictatorships, not in the United States. We have to act. We cannot allow him to tilt this election.”

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The Justice Department said Tuesday that New Jersey officials allegedly failed to give information regarding the release date of detained individuals who had been charged with or convicted of a crime.

You can read: Five days ICE raid in NJ ends with the arrest of 115 undocumented immigrants

“New Jersey’s decision to obstruct federal immigration enforcement by refusing to provide such information is unlawful under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution,” the DOJ argues.

U.S. Attorney General William Barr said that the state’s policy is ilegal. He claims that it obstructs federal immigration enforcement.

“Today is a significant escalation in the federal government’s efforts to confront the resistance of sanctuary cities,” U.S. Attorney General William Barr said. “But by no means do the efforts outlined above signify the culmination of our fight to ensure the rule of law, to defend the Constitution and to keep Americans safe.”

The complaint challenges New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal’s “Immigrant Trust Directive”. This directive prevents state law enforcement officials from sharing information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement about the immigration status and release date of detained individuals.

You can read: Trump announces rule that restricts legal immigration for low-income people

It also requires state and local law enforcement to inform a person who is detained if the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE )has filed an immigration detainer request for the individual.

The Justice Department also argued in that due to New Jersey’s law enforcement directive there were less arrests during year 2019 than in 2018.

However, Grewad discarded the lawsuit as a simple electoral movement in which President Trump places politi cal interests above legitimate citizen needs.

“Once again, the Trump Administration is sacrificing public safety for political expedience,” Grewal said in a statement. “It’s no surprise that the President, facing re-election, has suddenly decided to challenge a policy we first announced in 2018. What’s disappointing is that my former colleagues at the Justice Department have agreed to go along with this election year stunt.”

He added that the continuity of his job will be maintained. “Thankfully, nothing about today’s lawsuit changes our work on the ground. While the President grandstands, we’re focused on protecting the nine million residents of New Jersey.”

The post Trump administration threatens New Jersey’s Sanctuary State condition appeared first on El Sol News Media.

 According to the opinion of specialists, the behavior of the Executive in relation to the implementation of its immigration policy has obsessive signs.

In concrete terms, the shifting is part of a larger fund of $271 million that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will re-budget from some of its agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to reinforce Trump’s immigration and border strategy.

 According to the local press that cites a DHS statement, it has been disclosed that $116 million will support new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detentions beds.

As stated by The Washington Post, ICE currently has in its custody some 54,000 undocumented immigrants, mostly adults who have just arrived in the U.S. and have no other crime than irregularly crossing the border.

 The $155 million, on the other hand, will be used to “establish and operate (…) temporary Migrant Protecton Protocol (MPP) hearing facilities along the southern border”, used by the U.S. to return undocumented immigrants to Mexico in order to process in the neighboring country their cases.

FEMA’s $155 million shift coincides with the hurricane season in the United States and the passage of the tropical storm Dorian through Puerto Rico, already affected by the 2017 cyclones Maria and Irma.

 In a statement sent to CNN, FEMA said that despite the transfer, and according to a study of its historical spending, it still has an amount of money “sufficient to support operational needs” and said the shift “will not impact ongoing long-term recovery efforts across the country.”

The shift in the DHS funds – originally approved by Congress – was rejected by the Democratic opposition.

 “The Trump administration´s plan to divert money away from FEMA at the start of hurricane season to continue its efforts to separate and jail migrant families is backwards and cruel,” Democratic Senate Minority leader, Chuck Schumer said in a statement

 “Taking these critical funds from disaster preparedness and recovery efforts threatens lives and weakens the government’s ability to help Americans in the wake of natural disasters,” Schumer added.

Translated by: José Espinoza

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