On Halloween, D.C. Councilman David Grosso (I-At Large) referred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as "monsters." In a tweet, the councilman posted a photo of himself holding a sign that stated, "Thank you for keeping the I.C.E. monsters away." Grosso's thanks were directed towards United We Dream, a youth organization advocating on behalf of illegal immigrants.
Sorry I missed you yesterday @SanctuaryDMV @UNITEDWEDREAM! Thank you for stopping by. Let’s continue to fight to make DC a true #SanctuaryCity! pic.twitter.com/Uh31jelwd9
— David Grosso (@cmdgrosso) October 31, 2019
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Press Secretary responded to Grosso's tweet, accusing the councilman of jeopardizing the public's safety. The DHS press secretary pointed to nearby Montgomery County where an admitted rapist from El Salvador was recently released under a sanctuary policy that ignores ICE detainers.
Dereliction of Duty! A sitting DC councilman calls @ICEgov law enforcement officers monsters while advocating for policies that jeopardize public safety and allowed an admitted rapist w/ deportation order to go free in neighboring Montgomery County. https://t.co/fT7lqaJQcO https://t.co/RYtmVR10C9
— DHS Press Secretary (@SpoxDHS) October 31, 2019
Earlier this month, Grosso helped pass an "emergency" bill that made D.C.'s sanctuary policies even friendlier to criminal aliens. Under the new legislation, D.C. officials are prohibited from notifying ICE when an illegal alien is released from their custody. D.C. personnel are also banned from allowing ICE access to facilities for the purposes of detaining immigrants. By calling it an emergency, the D.C. Council bypassed congressional review.
For 2 years I've asked DOC abt its cooperation with ICE because I believe we need to fully live up to our #sanctuarycity status. I'm proud to be a co-introducer of emergency legislation the Council will take up next week to further limit cooperation w/ICE: https://t.co/1OZsg1SvTm
— David Grosso (@cmdgrosso) October 4, 2019
Who do the victims of sanctuary city policies consider to be the real monsters?