Politics

Somerville mayor calls attorney general’s sanctuary cities threat ‘government-by-toddler’

“I suggest a good nap and dry diaper, and then move onto something more productive.”

Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone Jonathan Wiggs / The Boston Globe

March 28, 2017

1 minute to read

Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone is lambasting Attorney General Jeff Sessions over his threat to withhold federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities. Sessions announced Monday that his department would pull current and future funding from cities that refuse to cooperate with immigration authorities. There is no set definition for what constitutes a sanctuary city, but the term generally refers to municipalities that do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

“I sometimes wonder if folks like AG Sessions think things through before they say them,” Curtatone said in a scathing Facebook post Tuesday, pointing to the use of the federal funding for local police for victim services and other programs that could be taken away if the federal government follows through on its threat.

“Essentially the AG is threatening to break things unless he gets his way,” Curtatone said on Facebook. “It’s government-by-toddler. I suggest a good nap and dry diaper, and then move onto something more productive.”

In an earlier response to the attorney general, the Somerville mayor suggested that Sessions should start his crackdown on “disregard for the law” with the Trump administration.

AG Sessions states, “Disregard for the law must end.” He’s right. He should start with the President and his administration.

— Joseph A. Curtatone (@JoeCurtatone) March 27, 2017

Curtatone isn’t the only local lawmaker pushing back against the attorney general’s statement.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh called the funding threat “irresponsible and destructive” and city officials pointed out that the city isn’t breaking any immigration laws with its sanctuary status. Like Walsh, following the election of Donald Trump, Curtatone reaffirmed his city’s commitment to staying a sanctuary city even if it means the loss of federal funding.