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Tag: comply
Larry Krasner says local police can’t be forced by ICE to comply with the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said Friday that local elected officials and law enforcement cannot be forced to comply with the Trump administration’s “Nazi stuff,” referring to the president’s planned crackdown on immigration.
“Local law enforcement can volunteer to do Nazi stuff,” Krasner, a Democrat, said. “I’m sure I stand with all my colleagues up here when we say nope, N-O-P-E, nope. Maybe there are some local law enforcement who want to put on jackboots and gray uniforms and march behind this, but not us.”
The comment came during a news conference Friday at Philadelphia City Hall where state representatives and City Council members condemned President Donald Trump’s actions on immigration, including rescinding guidance that once barred federal agents from entering churches, schools, and hospitals. Reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity have reverberated around the Philadelphia area since Trump took office, heightening anxieties for immigrant communities. Earlier this week, ICE agents raided a North Philadelphia car wash, arresting seven people and triggering a protest.
Officials on Friday aimed to make the public aware of Philadelphia’s intentions to protect its immigrant communities in the sanctuary city.
Krasner, who has long positioned himself as and campaigned on being a staunch adversary to Trump, is expected to launch his reelection bid for a third term as DA in the coming weeks. Earlier this month, former Philadelphia Judge Patrick Dugan announced his bid to challenge Krasner.
Krasner said the basis of local officials’ noncompliance with federal orders is supported by the Anti-Commandeering Doctrine, which is based on the Tenth Amendment and says “the federal government cannot require states or state officials to adopt or enforce federal law,” according to SCOTUSBlog.
A memo from Trump’s Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, published in various news outlets last week, threatened consequences for local officials who do not cooperate with Trump’s plans to crack down on immigration, adding that local officials are legally bound to cooperate with the U.S. Department of Justice based on the Constitution’s supremacy clause.
In light of that memo, Krasner said he and his staff would not comply with any immigration orders that break the law.
He expressed a similar sentiment Friday, also acknowledging that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement “is going to do what it is legally and constitutionally entitled to do.
”As a law enforcement officer, we would not interfere with that,” Krasner said.
But Krasner added that his office will not hold back from prosecuting ICE agents in Philadelphia for doing “criminal things that go beyond their rights.”
“Any ICE agent, any Proud Boy who thinks hate crimes are cool, thinks ‘I can get away with anything because there’s a king in D.C.?’ No, you can’t. That’s not how it’s going to work,” Krasner said.
“If you are so inclined to break the law to harm immigrants … if you are inclined to use them as your scapegoat, harm them, be cruel to them, you better do it within the law, and if you don’t, try me.”
Larry Krasner, the District Attorney of Philadelphia, has made it clear that local police cannot be forced by ICE to comply with the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Krasner, known for his progressive stance on criminal justice reform, stands firm in his belief that local law enforcement should not be used as a tool for federal immigration enforcement.In a recent statement, Krasner emphasized that the primary role of local police is to protect and serve their communities, not to enforce federal immigration laws. He stressed that forcing local police to collaborate with ICE undermines the trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities, making it harder for police to effectively do their jobs.
Krasner’s stance is in line with many other progressive prosecutors across the country who have pushed back against the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies. By standing up for the rights of all members of the community, regardless of their immigration status, Krasner is sending a powerful message about the importance of inclusivity and justice for all.
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Larry Krasner, ICE, Trump administration, immigration crackdown, local police, forced compliance, immigration policy, Philadelphia district attorney, law enforcement, sanctuary cities, immigration enforcement
#Larry #Krasner #local #police #forced #ICE #comply #Trump #administrations #immigration #crackdownOPM directs agencies to quickly comply with Trump’s return-to-office mandate
Agencies have until the end of the day Friday to revise their telework policies and begin ordering federal employees to work onsite full-time, according to a return-to-office memo from the Office of Personnel Management Wednesday evening.
OPM is recommending agencies target a 30-day deadline to be in full compliance with the return-to-office directive President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office. Trump’s executive order told agencies to return their federal employees to work at the office “as soon as practicable.” The order also called for agencies to end “remote work arrangements” and require employees to work in person full-time, while leaving room for some exemptions.
OPM’s latest memo offers further details on Trump’s initial executive order. Since the order only referenced remote work arrangements, and not telework arrangements, the Jan. 20 directive led to some initial confusion.
“The executive order is quite unclear in terms of exactly what it’s covering, because it does use the term remote work,” Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, told reporters during a press conference Tuesday.
For the federal workforce, “telework” and “remote work” are two distinct types of work arrangements for federal employees. Generally, federal employees with telework agreements are expected to report to their “official duty stations” on a “regular and recurring basis.” Remote agreements for federal employees, however, let employees work from an “alternative worksite,” and remote employees are generally not expected to report to work onsite at an agency.
OPM’s memo now calls for a full return to in-person work for a majority of currently teleworking federal employees. Agencies and federal supervisors can grant exemptions to the return-to-office mandate for individuals with a disability, a qualifying medical condition or another “compelling reason,” the memo states.
Additionally, employees who are located more than 50 miles away from an agency office should be designated to “the most appropriate agency office, based on the employee’s duties and job function,” the memo states.
OPM’s memo also tells agencies to submit their expected date for being in full compliance with the return-to-office directive. Agencies should notify all employees of Trump’s return-to-office mandate and have their telework managing officers oversee compliance with the guidance, OPM said.
The actual implementation of the mandate will likely vary by agency. But some agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security, have already announced return-to-office directives for their teleworking employees as a result of Trump’s order this week.
Currently, 54% of the federal workforce works entirely onsite due to the needs of their jobs. Telework-eligible federal employees comprise about 46% of the federal workforce, and they are spending an average of 60% of their work hours in person, according to May 2024 data from the Office of Management and Budget. About 10% of federal employees work entirely remotely.
The move toward a more hybrid federal workforce began in April 2023 when the Biden administration called on agencies to strike a balance between in-person work and telework for eligible federal employees. But the Trump administration has taken a harder stance on returning to the office.
“The [presidential mandate] reflects a simple reality. The only way to get employees back to the office is to adopt a centralized policy requiring return-to-work for all agencies across the federal government,” OPM Acting Director Charles Ezell wrote in the memo. “Seeking to cajole individual agencies to try to get employees to return to the worksite has not succeeded.”
In the memo, Ezell also said fully in-person work is needed for better efficiency and accountability, as well as to fill federal office space.
“Virtually unrestricted telework has led to poorer government services and made it more difficult to supervise and train government workers,” Ezell wrote.
Critics of the full return-to-office mandate, however, said telework options have been available to eligible federal employees for years — well before the COVID-19 pandemic — and that they are an important tool for the federal workforce.
“The reality of this is that there has been bipartisan support for telework in the federal space for many, many years, because it’s been shown — in certain circumstances and when well-applied — to provide both for better performance and improved ability to recruit the best talent for federal positions,” Stier told reporters earlier this week.
“Telework began decades ago in the federal government as a smart, cost-effective program allowing agencies to downsize their office space and lower real estate costs,” Doreen Greenwald, national president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said in a statement. “Certain positions in the government have been eligible to telework part of each week for years — well before the pandemic — and they have done so successfully under strict supervision while being held to the same productivity and accountability standards as non-teleworking employees.”
Many federal employees themselves have also said they’re more productive while having the ability to telework, according to a recent survey Federal News Network conducted. Many respondents expressed concerns about a “one-size-fits-all” return-to-office policy having adverse impacts on productivity, efficiency, employee retention and more. When asked about office space, 44% of respondents said they were “extremely concerned” about their agencies having enough space to accommodate a full return-to-office mandate.
Federal unions have also pointed to existing provisions in collective bargaining agreements that secure telework arrangements for federal employees.
“OPM’s guidance explicitly states that collective bargaining obligations and applicable law must be met when carrying out the president’s memorandum, so hybrid work schedules detailed in our collective bargaining agreements remain legally binding,” American Federation of Government Employees spokesperson Tim Kauffman said in an email to Federal News Network. “Should agencies implement policies contrary to our contracts, employees should comply, but we as a union will be prepared to file grievances.”
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The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has issued a directive to federal agencies instructing them to quickly comply with President Trump’s return-to-office mandate. This directive comes as the administration pushes for a full return to in-person work for federal employees, despite concerns about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.In the memo, OPM Acting Director Michael Rigas emphasized the importance of ensuring a safe and efficient transition back to the office for federal workers. The directive outlines specific steps that agencies must take to meet the administration’s deadline for a full return to in-person work.
Many federal employees have expressed concerns about returning to the office, especially as the Delta variant continues to spread and cases of COVID-19 rise. However, the OPM directive makes it clear that agencies must prioritize compliance with the return-to-office mandate.
It remains to be seen how federal agencies will navigate the challenges of returning to in-person work in the midst of a pandemic. As the situation continues to evolve, employees and agencies alike will need to remain flexible and adaptable in order to ensure a safe and successful transition back to the office.
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OPM, Trump return-to-office mandate, government agencies, compliance deadline, workplace safety, remote work policies, federal employees, telework options, office reopening guidelines, COVID-19 protocols
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