3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017
Seattle sues Trump administration over sanctuary city threat
Mayor says
executive order
is punishment
By MARTHA BELLISLE
Associated Press
SEATTLE
—
Seat-
tle filed a lawsuit Wednes-
day over President Donald
Trump’s executive order that
threatens to withhold fed-
eral funds from communities
that refuse to cooperate with
efforts to find and deport
immigrants in the country
illegally.
Mayor Ed Murray said
the order issued in January
punishing “sanctuary cities”
is unconstitutional and cre-
ates uncertainty around the
city’s budget.
Other governments have
sued Trump over the sanc-
tuary issue. San Francisco
filed a lawsuit earlier this
year, also saying the order
was unconstitutional. Cali-
fornia’s Santa Clara County
and two Massachusetts cit-
ies with large Latino popu-
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, second left, speaks at a post-election event in November of
elected officials and community leaders at City Hall in Seattle. On Wednesday, Murray
announced that Seattle is suing President Donald Trump over his executive order that
threatens to withhold federal funds from communities that refuse to cooperate with ef-
forts to find and deport immigrants in the country illegally.
lations — Chelsea and Law-
rence — have also taken
legal action.
Justice
Department
spokesman Ian Prior said in
a statement that “the Ameri-
can people want and deserve
a lawful immigration system
that keeps us safe and serves
our national interest” and
County’s unemployment rate falls to 3.9 percent
The Daily Astorian
Clatsop County’s sea-
sonally adjusted unemploy-
ment rate fell below 4 per-
cent in February, according
to the Oregon Employment
Department.
The county’s February
unemployment rate of 3.9 per-
cent, which dropped from 4.2
percent in January, is tied for
eighth-lowest in the state with
Sherman County in eastern
Oregon. Benton County in the
Willamette Valley has dropped
below 2.9 percent; the state is
at 4.2 percent; and the U.S.
is at 4.7 percent. Economists
have said the U.S. is at nearly
full employment after recover-
ing from the Great Recession.
Clatsop County added 90
jobs in February, 60 fewer than
expected. Leisure and hospi-
tality added 120 jobs, while
transportation, warehousing
Jobless rates
for February*
Area
Clatsop
Feb. Jan. 1-yr.
2017 2017 ago
3.9
4.2 4.7
Columbia
5
5.5
6.3
Tillamook
4.1
4.5
5.1
4
4.3
4.9
4.7
4.8
4.9
Oregon
U.S.
*Preliminary, seasonaly adjusted rates.
Source: Oregon Employment Department
Daily Astorian graphic
and utilities added 60. Retail
trade cut 70 jobs, and food
manufacturing another 50.
The county has experi-
enced a 1.3 percent growth
rate in total nonfarm employ-
ment from a year ago, adding
220 jobs. Industries adding
the most jobs were retail trade
with 150, local government
70 and trade, transportation,
warehousing and utilities 100.
Columbia County’s sea-
sonally adjusted unemploy-
ment rate was 5 percent in
February, 0.5 percent lower
than the previous month. The
county’s employment has
grown by 100, or just under 1
percent, from a year ago.
Tillamook County posted
a seasonally adjusted unem-
ployment rate of 4.1 percent
in February, down 0.4 percent
from the previous month. The
county has added 150 nonfarm
payroll jobs since the previous
year, a 1.7 percent growth rate
in employment.
County employment fi g-
ures for March will be released
April 25.
that the federal government
will enforce relevant laws.
The order also makes com-
munities less safe by forc-
ing people underground, said
City Attorney Pete Holmes.
When people are mar-
ginalized and made to fear
police, they are less likely to
come forward as witnesses
to crime, Murray said.
The lawsuit filed in U.S.
District Court asks a judge
to declare that Seattle is in
compliance with the law and
that the executive order is
unconstitutional under the
10th Amendment and the
Spending Clause of the U.S.
Constitution.
“This
administration
has created an atmosphere
of anxiety in cities across
America and has created
chaos in our politics,” Mur-
ray said. “It is time for cities
to stand up and ask the courts
to put an end to the anxiety
in our communities and the
chaos in our system.”
Associated Press writer
Sadie Gurman contributed
from Washington, D.C.
Attorney General Jeff
Sessions reiterated this week
that the Justice Department
would deny grant money
to cities that violate a fed-
eral law dealing with infor-
mation-sharing among local
police and federal authori-
ties. Sessions said the cities
are making their communi-
ties unsafe.
Murray challenged that
claim.
“Apparently the Trump
administration, their war
on facts has now become a
war on cities,” Murray said
during a news conference.
“Let me be clear about the
facts. We are not breaking
any laws and we are priori-
tizing safety.”
Under the order, Seattle
could face at least $10.5 mil-
lion in cuts to public safety
programs, he said.
Trump’s order violates
the constitution by trying to
make local law enforcement
enforce federal immigration
law, Murray said.
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