Sessions may prosecute sanctuary cities if confirmed

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Sen. Jeff Sessions is on record saying so-called “sanctuary cities” that protect illegal immigrants should be prosecuted. He himself may get that chance next year.

Mr. Sessions is president-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be the next attorney general, and if he’s confirmed, he will mark a 180-degree turn from the Obama administration on a host of issues, but nowhere more so than on immigration, where he’s been the Senate’s leading crackdown proponent.

From his first day in office, Mr. Sessions will have the power to strip some federal funding from sanctuary cities, thanks to rulings this year by the Justice Department’s inspector general, who said federal law requires localities to cooperate with immigration agents — and who provided an initial list of a handful of the worst offenders.

“The sanctuary cities thing is huge. I think most jurisdictions are going to fold like a cheap suit,” said Rosemary Jenks, government relations manager at NumbersUSA, which lobbies for stricter immigration laws.

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He would also be the chief decider for legal strategy, and legal scholars said they expect him to halt the Obama administration’s practice of “sue-and-settle,” where agencies whose hands are tied invite a lawsuit from interest groups, then quickly agree to settle the case.

Sue-and-settle has been most prominently used by environmental groups who sue the Environmental Protection Agency, forcing new regulations and environmental restrictions that would otherwise have trouble getting through the bureaucracy.

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