Forty-eight hours after the White House blasted Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy's statement telling state police they "should not cooperate" with the Trump administration on deportation of illegal immigrants, the Nutmeg State chief executive hit back hard at White House press secretary Sean Spicer.
"Sean didn't read a thing in my statement," Malloy, D-Conn., told Newsmax during the National Governors Association meeting Saturday.
Spicer responded Thursday to Malloy's "non-cooperation" statement when he told reporters at the White House "laws are passed in this country, and we expect people, and our lawmakers, and our law enforcement agencies to follow and adhere to the laws as passed by the appropriate level of government."
Citing a 2013 Nutmeg State law dealing with illegal immigrants, Malloy told us the measure "indicates clearly what we will do and will not do. If someone has committed offenses and is wanted, then, yes, of course, we will cooperate with ICE. But if [federal officials] want us to go into a warming center or into a school where they will scare kids, then, no, we won't help them. We'll enforce our [Connecticut] laws."
With Connecticut one of a handful of states that considers itself a "sanctuary state," the governor has urged local school administrators and police not to cooperate with ICE.
But some local officials disagree with Malloy. Danbury's Republican Mayor Mark Broughton said last week his city stands ready to help ICE with Trump's crackdown and mass deportation plans. Broughton estimated Danbury has approximately 5,000 illegal aliens within its borders.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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