California attorney general shrugs off ICE's threat to charge against Sanctuary City

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- California's Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Wednesday said the state will continue to protect its immigrants despite federal authorities' threat to file charges against politicians supporting offering sanctuary to immigrants.

"New year, old rhetoric from Washington. Here in California, we'll stay the course and enforce our laws that protect our communities and make CA's economy #1 in the nation." Becerra tweeted.

He also posted a picture of Thomas Homan, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) taking an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, when the acting director said the Department of Justice needs to file charges against municipalities that do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities and deny them funding.

Homan also warned in the program that politicians should be held "personally accountable" for crimes committed by people living in the United States illegally, and "we've got to start charging some of these politicians with crimes."

California had "better hold on tight," Homan said, adding "they're about to see a lot more special agents, a lot more deportation hours in the state of California."

This vocal war erupted after California made history by becoming the first "Sanctuary State" in the country as a new law, signed by Governor Jerry Brown last October, went into effect Monday, which vastly limits cooperation between state and local law enforcement officers with the ICE.

The law was dubbed by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions as "unconscionable," but it was also defended by Brown as a reaction to "this kind of xenophobia we see coming out of Washington."

"It protects public safety but it also protects hardworking people who contribute a lot to California," Brown said. Enditem