California is ready to take on the Justice Department. That’s according to San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, who was responding to a lawsuit against the state brought by Attorney General Jeff Sessions over immigration laws. “I find it very disingenuous that you have people that for generations talk about state rights and all of a sudden their talking about federal supremacy,” he said in a Cheddar interview Wednesday. The Justice Department and immigration agencies this week sued California over its “sanctuary” laws, which prohibit local and state authorities, as well as private employers, from cooperating with federal immigration officers. Sessions, who filed the suit Wednesday, said California’s policy threatens national safety. Gascón, though, said the state doesn’t prevent immigration officials from going into California and doing their jobs. It’s simply not actively cooperating. He argued that immigrants are important to California’s social fabric and provide a “major economic engine.” “I think that this is an administration that is failing on so many fronts, and what they’re trying to do is create another diversion,” he told Cheddar. “All of this is really a political stunt that is driven by very racist attitude and has nothing to do with public safety.” For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/inside-the-sanctuary-city-legal-battle).

Share:
More In Politics
White House-Backed Campaign Pushes Alternate Career Paths
The initiative is geared toward students, mid-career workers and the millions now unemployed because of the new coronavirus. But the campaign, called “Find Something New,” was quickly bashed on social media as being tone deaf and inadequate for the times.
Trump Administration Rescinds Rule on Foreign Students
The Trump administration has rescinded a rule that would have required international students to transfer schools or leave the country if their colleges hold classes entirely online this fall because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Load More