WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Alabama’s voice on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined Ranking Member Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) in announcing the discovery of a memorandum that exposes an effort by Julie Su, President Joe Biden’s nominee to be labor secretary, to obstruct immigration law enforcement.
The memo, provided by the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) following Senator Tuberville’s request, showed then-California State Labor Commissioner Julie Su directed her staff to obstruct U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) officials who visited state labor offices. This revelation follows Su repeatedly ignoring and refusing requests to provide the memo as part of the Senate review process of her nomination to be secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).
“We now have the proof that Julie Su actively thwarted federal law enforcement from doing its job,” said Senator Tuberville.“That might be popular in left-wing California, but she is too radical for America. We can’t have a labor secretary who puts the wants of illegal immigrants ahead of the needs of the American people.”
During a nomination hearing for Su, Senator Tuberville asked her about the memo she issued in July of 2017 in which she reportedly directed her staff in the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) to refuse entry to ICE agents who visited state labor offices in California. In her testimony, Julie Su admitted the existence of the memo, but stated she did not have access to it. When Senator Tuberville submitted a Question for the Record (QFR) asking for a copy of the memo after the hearing, Su failed to provide the document. Senators Tuberville and Cassidy then requested the memo directly from California LWDA, leading to its revelation this week.
The memo reveals that Julie Su instructed staff on how to hide illegal aliens from ICE:
“For example, under these protocols (as well as current practice), staff may of course escort or show a worker to any part of our office (including behind closed doors), for the purpose of allowing the worker to obtain information about labor laws, to participate in one of our proceedings, or to be interviewed by a Deputy or Attorney. These protocols also make clear that staff should not give certain information (as noted above) to an agent.”
Part 7 of the policy told LWDA employees to inform agents enforcing federal immigration law that “it is [Julie Su’s] general policy not to permit such interference [i.e. federal immigration enforcement] with our state law enforcement duties,” despite the Constitution specifying that federal law trumps state law.
While Julie Su obstructed federal law enforcement, she also put in place policies to tip off illegal immigrants that ICE was looking for them.
Part 11 of the policy instructed LWDA employees to inform “the worker who is the subject of the agent’s inquiry” that “a federal immigration agent has shown up looking for the worker…If the worker does not appear for the scheduled proceeding, the Deputy should make reasonable efforts to call the worker within 24 hours of the incident to inform the worker.” To assist subjects of a federal immigration investigation in evading federal law enforcement, the policy goes on in Part 15 to instruct LWDA employees to inform them that they may “appear remotely for any future proceedings” and “Deputies should not close the worker’s case if the worker does not show up for a scheduled proceeding…The worker should be allowed to phone in or make a video appearance from an alternate location that is not disclosed to the employer.”
Instead of aiding law enforcement, Julie Su’s LWDA required staff to help illegal aliens file retaliation claims against their employers rather than comply with immigration laws.
Part 12 of the policy “Assisting with Retaliation Complaint; CIU Referral” instructs LWDA staff to target the employer of the subject of the federal immigration investigation regardless of whether the individual did “not report a previous threat made by the employer [to call ICE].”
Click here to view the full memo.
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees.
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