The Department of Homeland Security’s list of so-called sanctuary jurisdictions was “foolish,” according to U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine.
Kaine, in a conference call with members of the media today, said the list itself had glaring errors and was “amateur hour on steroids.”
In Virginia, more than 30 localities were listed on a page on DHS’ website that were supposedly identified by the government as undermining the rule of law and endangering the lives of Americans and law enforcement.
Charlottesville, Albemarle County and Augusta County were all surprised to be named by DHS and all released statements saying, in essence, they were trying to get more guidance from federal authorities on why they were on the list.
The website page implied that jurisdictions on the list could face punishment or have funding cut if they didn’t cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, Kaine said.
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Kaine wasn’t the only one shocked by the release; the National Sheriff’s Association responded saying the list was received poorly at a time when the president and his administration is relying on local law enforcement to meet deportation goals.
“The completion and publication of this list has not only violated the core principles of trust, cooperation and partnership with fellow law enforcement, but it also has the potential to strain the relationship between sheriffs and the White House administration,” read a statement from NSA President Sheriff Kieran Donahue.
Donahue said the damage done by publishing the list of sanctuary jurisdictions would likely take years to overcome.
Shortly after the NSA statement was released, the list disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, with no explanation, no apology and no public statement.
Kaine: Document had errors, likely generated by AI
There were several things that stood out as bizarre to Kaine about Virginia localities that were included on the list.
It listed cities as counties, and listed cities that aren’t cities, and the most bizarre, he said, was that Duffield was on the list, a town in Scott County that has a population of 70 people and doesn’t have a police force.
“I’ve been to Duffield not that long ago,” Kaine said. “Duffield is not a sanctuary city under any stretch of the imagination, and so, when you look at something like this, that is so amateurish and so filled with mistakes, you wonder, who’s doing the work?”
Kaine pointed to layoffs, retirement and the infamous fork-in-the-road email to employees as the reason for the mistakes and said he believes that DHS likely used artificial intelligence, or AI, to generate the counties and cities, with no editor or person reviewing it before publishing the list to its website.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem was asked on Sunday about the matter, and Kaine said, she stood her ground, asserting that just because a jurisdiction hasn’t passed a sanctuary cities resolution, many of them were still doing wrong. She was pressed for examples and couldn’t provide any, he added.
“We don’t need a government run by bozos,” Kaine told the media today. “We need a government run by pros.”
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Crystal Graham
