Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA), who is running for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania blasted both the mayor of Philadelphia and his own opponent, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), over a viral video of the mayor dancing as Philadelphia joined the ranks of sanctuary cities which give safe harbor to illegal immigrants, including those with criminal records, thanks to a decision handed down by a federal district judge.
Needless to say, I think @janeslusser and @PhillyMayor are pretty excited about today’s ruling affirming Philadelphia as a Sanctuary City. pic.twitter.com/gdnnjZT9ps
— Steve Preston (@StevePrest) June 6, 2018
“That’s really a sad video to watch,” Barletta told Stuart Varney on Fox Business Network, “Especially for me.”
“I don’t think the families of the victims in Philadelphia who were victims of illegal immigrants… I don’t think they’re dancing,” Barletta said.
Barletta went on to cite the family of a child allegedly raped by an illegal immigrant in Philadelphia, saying he “is challenging Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) in November, and that he and Casey — the son of a former Pennsylvania governor — are “on opposite ends” of the sanctuary city and illegal immigration issue.”
“That’s going to be a big issue in this election,” Barletta said.
Casey Jr. addressed the illegal immigration issue in a February statement:
“It is long past time that Washington get serious about real immigration reform. That’s not amnesty. And that’s not deporting all eleven million undocumented immigrants. My Republican colleagues and President Trump seem to think that the best way to deal with immigration is to just deport everyone. That’s unworkable, and they know it. So let’s stop playing political games and get to work,” he said.
Fox News Insider originally reported on the video of the mayor dancing here.
A member of Philadelphia Mayor James Kenney’s staff taped the Democrat dancing with his chief of staff in celebration of a court ruling in favor of the city and against the Trump administration.
On Wednesday, federal Judge Michael Baylson of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled that President Donald Trump cannot cut off grants to Philadelphia over the way they handle illegal immigrants.
Baylson, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote that Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ “public statements… asserting that immigrants commit more crimes than native-born citizens, are inaccurate as applied to Philadelphia, and do not justify the imposition of these… conditions.”
The Department of Justice is expected to appeal Judge Baylson’s decision.
A year ago, an ordinance that would have, in effect, turned Nashville into a sanctuary city was withdrawn from consideration by its sponsors in the Metro Council after the Tennessee General Assembly made it clear in a strongly worded letter signed by more than a majority of the members of the Tennessee House and the Tennessee Senate that if Metro Nashville passed such an ordinance, it would face immediate and severe budget repercussions.
