Sanctuary cities were always a bad idea. The notion that city or state leadership can declare a jurisdiction exempt from federal law is antithetical to core American principles.
The American experiment was founded upon a system of laws that all must follow — laws intended to restrain power, protect liberty, and ensure that no individual stands above the rules that govern the nation. From its earliest days, the republic has depended upon a shared commitment to constitutional order, equal justice, and accountability under the law. This principle has been the bedrock of American stability and the measure by which the nation judges its own legitimacy.
The system begins to fracture when citizens, particularly elected officials, convince themselves that disagreement confers exemption, that laws may be obeyed selectively and ignored at will. This is precisely the logic embraced by blue-state governors and mayors who proclaim certain state and local jurisdictions as sanctuary territories…