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<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="9754448" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="judicial-council-of-california">Judicial Council of California</keyword> voted 19-1 on Thursday to lift its moratorium on most <keyword id="2602571" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="evictions">evictions</keyword> and <keyword id="444600" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="foreclosures">foreclosures</keyword>.</li><li>"The judicial branch cannot usurp the responsibility of the other two branches on a long-term basis to deal with the myriad impacts of the pandemic," Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye said in a statement.</li><li>Earlier, state lawmakers had pleaded with the council for more time to come up with a solution of their own, warning of "chaos" should evictions resume.</li></ul><keyword id="2379" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="California">California</keyword>'s top justices voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to lift emergency rules meant to halt most evictions and foreclosures during the <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword> pandemic, saying any extension of those moratoriums must be passed by the state's lawmakers."The judicial branch cannot usurp the responsibility of the other two branches on a long-term basis to deal with the myriad impacts of the pandemic," Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye said in a statement. "The duty of the judicial branch is to resolve disputes under the law and not to legislate."In the absence of a new law, most evictions and foreclosures could resume as soon as Sept. 2.California lawmakers have thus far been unable to reach a deal on a legislative moratorium. Earlier in August, Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon pleaded with the Judicial Council for more time, warning of "chaos" should evictions resume, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-08-05/california-legislative-leaders-judicial-council-delay-lifting-eviction-moratorium-coronavirus">the Los Angeles Times reported</a>."Speeding up the legislative process is nearly impossible," the lawmakers wrote, "given the current precautions needed to reduce the risk of viral transmission during legislative business."California's Assembly and Senate have both taken up legislation for a state-wide eviction moratorium but, as the <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/California-to-end-eviction-protections-as-15482273.php">Associated Press noted</a>, the bills clash on how to compensate landlords.Some California renters are protected by a hodgepodge of local eviction protections, but those are set to expire too. In Los Angeles, for example, a county-wide moratorium is set to be lifted on Sept. 30.Should that happen, as many as 365,000 households could be at risk of eviction, <a href="https://laist.com/2020/07/24/cancel-rent-los-angeles-homeless.php">LAist reported</a>, citing research by UCLA's Luskin Institute.Have a <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> tip? Email this reporter: <a href="mailto:cdavis@insider.com">cdavis@insider.com</a>

California courts lift eviction and foreclosure moratorium. In the absence of a new law 365,000 households in the state are at risk of eviction.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="292185" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Judicial-Council">Judicial Council</keyword> of <keyword id="2379" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="California">California</keyword> announced Monday that it will be voting on whether to lift emergency measures adopted to limit the spread of the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword>.</li><li>On Wednesday, June 10, the Judicial Council of California voted to end $0 <keyword id="6354905" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bail">bail</keyword> for both non-violent cases.</li><li>In April, the Judicial Council, a statewide policy-making body, imposed a moratorium on most <keyword id="2602571" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="evictions">evictions</keyword> and set bail at $0 for nearly all misdemeanors and non-violent felonies, <a href="https://www.insider.com/in-la-looting-theft-means-pre-trial-detention-2020-6">with an exception for looting</a>.</li><li>The Judicial Council said that, with California beginning to reopen, it should be left to counties and the state legislature to decide what measures are appropriate.</li></ul>California authorities voted Wednesday to end the statewide policy of $0 bail for most nonviolent offenses, citing progress in the fight against <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword>, but postponed a decision on extending the moratorium on evictions.When the COVID-19 pandemic hit California, the Judicial Council — a policy-making body chaired by the chief justice of the state's Supreme Court — announced a freeze on most evictions, a move that was denounced by the California Apartment Association, a trade group for landlords. Many local jurisdictions have imposed imposed their own, separate moratoriums on commercial and residential evictions.Alarmed by the prospect of widespread infection among the incarcerated, Judicial Council also set bail at $0 for misdemeanors and most non-violent felonies, with an <a href="https://www.insider.com/in-la-looting-theft-means-pre-trial-detention-2020-6">exception for alleged "looting,"</a> in an effort to reduce jail populations.According to John's Hopkins University, there have been more than 133,000 cases in California, with more than 4,600 deaths.On Wednesday, the could <a href="https://newsroom.courts.ca.gov/news/judicial-council-chief-justice-end-some-emergency-measures-as-california-and-courts-expand-reopening">voted 17-2</a> to end $0 bail, effective June 20. But it <a href="https://newsroom.courts.ca.gov/news/chief-justice-suspends-vote-on-eviction-foreclosure-emergency-rules">delayed a vote</a> on evictions following what Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye described as "discussions with the governor, legislative leaders, and Judicial Council members."Earlier, the group had that signalled the eviction moratorium would come to an end as well."The Judicial Council acted quickly to safely reduce jail populations and halt evictions and foreclosures during an unprecedented global health crisis," Martin Hoshino, administrative director of the Judicial Council, said in the <a href="https://newsroom.courts.ca.gov/news/judicial-council-chief-justice-consider-ending-some-emergency-measures-as-california-and-courts-expand-reopening">June 8 news release</a>. "These rules achieved their goals — to reduce harm, save lives, and help 'flatten the curve' of the pandemic."More than 20,000 people have been spared pre-trial detention thus far, the release noted. And, "Despite being in uncharted territory, crime rates stayed at historic lows, and the vast majority of people released on the COVID-19 bail schedule did not reoffend," Justice Marsha Slough said.Local jurisdictions will still be able to set zero-cost bail if they consider it necessary. Indeed, it appears to be needed in the state's most populous county, home to one of the world's largest jail system.In the nation's most populous county, Los Angeles, "health officials are detecting an uptick in disease transmission," the Los Angeles Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-08/los-angeles-reopens-coronavirus-transmission-rate-climbing">reported Monday</a>, following the reopening of hair salons and in-person dining last month.Meanwhile, over 2,500 people in the Los Angeles jail system have COVID-19, <a href="https://lasd.org/covid19updates/">according to the county Sheriff's Department</a>, or roughly a third of those who have been tested.Have a <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> tip? Email this reporter: <a href="mailto:cdavis@insider.com">cdavis@insider.com</a>

California ends $0 bail for nonviolent cases but delays vote on eviction moratorium

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6354803" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Los-Angeles">Los Angeles</keyword> County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said this week that she will be setting <keyword id="6354905" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bail">bail</keyword> for defendants accused of <keyword id="6436759" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="looting">looting</keyword>.</li><li>In April, California's Judicial Council said most non-violent crimes should come with $0 bail in order to reduce jail populations during the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> pandemic.</li><li>The council provided an exception for "looting," however, it's ultimately up to prosecutors to decide how to charge people and whether or not to require bail for non-violent offenses.</li><li>Former San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, who is challenging Lacey in November, said he supports accountability for crimes committed but that pre-trial detention for theft poses a public health risk during a pandemic.</li></ul>People accused of looting who are arrested in the nation's most populous county will be treated like violent criminals and denied the benefits of a zero-cost bail policy meant to limit the spread of the coronavirus."Looting is different," Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said Tuesday, explaining that in case of theft during a state of emergency "bail will be set.""Those cases are not going to be treated as misdemeanors," Lacey <a href="https://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/2020/06/02/65675/newly-published-survey-finds-only-about-a-third-of/">told public radio station KPCC</a>. Lacey, who is up for reelection this November, is a regular target of Black Lives Matter protests, and her husband pulled a gun on one demonstration outside her home."Those cases will be evaluated for felony filings," she said, adding that there could be exceptions, such as for people who "steal food because they're hungry."In April, the Judicial Council, a statewide body that establishes guidelines for California's justice system, adopted an emergency rule, setting bail at $0 for misdemeanors and low-level felonies, a policy intended to reduce jail populations amidst the threat of COVID-19.But it left an exemption for "looting," which in a time of civil unrest — or public health emergency — can be construed as any act of theft. This change in definition would deny those accused of the crime from getting out of jail at no cost. Those who cannot afford to get out, then, could be confined in a cell until their trial.Even before the latest unrest, which has seen looting in cities across the country, some prosecutors were using that exemption as a loophole.<div type="image" title="AP_20154077944856" height="1250" width="2500" msid="76208673" hostid="261"></div><h2>Upcharging during the coronavirus</h2>Birgit Fladager, district attorney for Stanislaus County in Central California, announced in a press release that anyone who burglarized a store "could be charged with looting," allowing bail to be set and the accused to be further detained, <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/california-zero-bail-loopholes-covid-19-jail_n_5ec43219c5b65d2546d98503">HuffPost reported</a> in mid-May.In Los Angeles, the approach was more discrete.In an April 14 email obtained by HuffPost, Deputy District Attorney Michael Fern noted that theft involving property worth more than $950 could be treated as felony looting, whether or not it's connected to a crisis. He added, "though we would probably want to be able to articulate some connection, such as how the theft was aided by decreased vigilance due to depleted law enforcement resources, business closures, or sheltering-in-place."Greg Risling, a spokesman for the LA district attorney, told Business Insider he could not say how many people Lacey's office has charged with looting.But Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/03/george-floyd-protests-los-angeles-arrests">about 200 people</a> had been arrested for looting or vandalism; more than 3,000 people have been arrested in the city of Los Angeles. Across Los Angeles County, another 61 people were arrested for looting Wednesday night. "Looting is an offense that does not qualify for zero bail pursuant to the Judicial Council's order," Risling said. He added that the district attorney will "fairly evaluate every case on its merits and file all appropriate charges supported by the facts."The Judicial Council could amend its guidance, spokesperson Merrill Balassone told Business Insider, noting that the current "statewide emergency bail schedule sets presumptive bail at $0 for those accused of misdemeanors and non-violent felonies to safely reduce jail populations during a public health crisis."But there has not been a move to amend it, and regardless of the council's decision, a local prosecutor concerned about a pandemic could pursue alternatives to extended pre-trial detention.<div type="image" title="AP_20057038346295" height="1053" width="2105" msid="76208678" hostid="261"></div><h2>'Why the hell not just have a computer charge everybody?'</h2>Lacey's electoral challenger in the fall, former San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, agrees that each case must be evaluated on its merits — some "loot" because the opportunity presents itself, while for others it's a business. For the latter, though, bail will never be a problem, he says; it is the indigent defendant who will have trouble posting $50,000. "You cannot place an entire community at risk of contracting a deadly virus because somebody was looting," Gascón told Business Insider. He accused Lacey of catering to the demagoguery of "law and order" without consideration for the effectiveness, as a deterrent, and the impact on public health. And he maintained that she has a considerable degree of choice in the matter. Lacey could, for example, defer prosecutions, so that people need not wait behind bars where they might contract — or spread — the coronavirus. And it is ultimately her office's call on what the charges will be, and whether or not to extend a zero-bail policy during the pandemic."My point is not giving people a pass," he said. "The point is that as human beings, as thinking, logical people — and especially people that are placed in these very high levels of responsibility where you can use so much discretion — you have to be thoughtful and humane about the way you apply the policy and the way that you apply discretion. Otherwise: Why the hell not just have a computer charge everybody?"One group that Lacey, the first woman and first African-American to serve as LA district attorney, hasn't charged often: the police, even when their own boss recommends prosecution.In 2016, former Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck <a href="https://www.scpr.org/news/2016/01/11/56778/beck-recommends-criminal-charges-in-fatal-venice-p/">publicly requested</a> legal consequences for an officer, Clifford Proctor, who killed 29-year-old Brendon Glenn, an unarmed homeless man, during a stop in Venice. The Board of Police Commissioners, a historically conservative body said the killing was unjustified, with Proctor's own partner unable to explain why shots were fired.Two years later, the county's top prosecutor announced she was <a href="https://www.scpr.org/news/2018/03/08/81467/no-charges-for-lapd-officer-who-killed-brendon-gle/">declining to press charges</a> based on the same reasoning rejected by others: that "Proctor may have reasonably believed that Glenn was reaching for his partner's gun."<div type="image" title="AP_20155143186282" height="1250" width="2500" msid="76208680" hostid="261"></div><h2>'Traditional punitive paradigms'</h2>Nikhil Ramnaney, president of the Los Angeles County Public Defenders' Union, told Business Insider that when it comes to recent arrests, be it for protesting or theft, he's troubled by the lack of transparency from Lacey's office. Courts have been closed or operationally limited amid both the pandemic and the civil unrest, "so we haven't had, as attorneys or public defenders, the opportunity to review the circumstances of the legality or any major issues with discretionary filing," he said. "The DA could easily provide us that information."He's also troubled by the emails that circulated in April, showing Lacey's staff weighing the option of increasing charges, from misdemeanor theft to felony looting, to justify detention without trial."I think we have to realize the conditions in jail and how unprecedented they are," Ramnaney said. "We have close to a 20% infection rate. We have 6,000 people in quarantine. We had our first death in custody. And just this last week we had our first public defender death."At Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles, nearly 60% of asymptomatic inmates in one dorm tested positive for COVID-19, the Los Angeles Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-05-27/coronavirus-infection-rates-los-angeles-county-jails">reported</a>."Electronic monitoring, community support — there's plenty of other ways to ensure [justice] rather than putting people unnecessarily in jail, and it doesn't seem like we're interested in pursuing those solutions or thinking outside of our traditional punitive paradigms," he said.Ramnaney also maintained that Lacey, due to the lack of police prosecutions under her watch, has helped instigate the current unrest."Jackie Lacey has contributed to this culture of unaccountability," he argued. "She had a responsibility to swiftly investigate and appropriately bring charges against individuals [in law enforcement] who have committed crimes, and she failed to do so. And I think people are tired of waiting — and they're tired of the traditional, democratic expressions like voting."On Wednesday, <a href="https://www.dailynews.com/2020/06/03/thousands-march-to-la-countys-hall-of-justice-to-confront-da-jackie-lacey/">thousands of Angelenos marched</a> to the district attorney's office in downtown LA. "Jackie Lacey must go," they chanted. Have a <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> tip? Email this reporter: <a href="mailto:cdavis@insider.com">cdavis@insider.com</a>.

California set bail at $0 for most non-violent crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic. But an exception was left for looting meaning those in LA could be jailed as the infection spreads.

When renters get locked out, it's unlikely they'll ever get back in

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The recent killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh is the latest in a series of assassinations of Iranian scientists working on the country's nuclear and missile programs.</li><li>But assassinations and sabotage haven't appreciably slowed work on those programs, and many are ready to take over when a leading researcher is killed, writes Muhammad Sahimi, a professor at the University of Southern California.</li></ul>Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a leading figure in <keyword id="41896" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Iran">Iran</keyword>'s nuclear and missile program, was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/27/world/middleeast/iran-nuclear-scientist-assassinated-mohsen-fakhrizadeh.html">finally assassinated</a>. Many believe his November 27 killing was the handiwork of Israel, though so far that accusation has yet to be confirmed. If so, it is nothing short of <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnBrennan/status/1332400792620462082">state-sponsored terrorism</a>.Israel and the United States had been looking for Fakhrizadeh for at least 15 years as part of <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2012/01/timeline-a-long-covert-conflict.html?fbclid=IwAR3E_sTLWq9vAmvBu6t_iJuN3Iom2MRjtyr8fyy8kIm3eowjMb-zM6tovwM">a larger covert war</a> against Tehran supposedly designed to slow its nuclear and missile programs - which Israel insists are aimed at producing weapons and the means to deliver them.Thus the question is, have multiple assassinations, considered "criminal" by the <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/eu-condemns-killing-of-iranian-nuclear-scientist-as-criminal-act/">European Union</a> and <a href="https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/455192/UN-official-implies-to-assassination-of-Iranian-scientist-rights">condemned by</a> Agnes Callamard, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial Executions, achieved their goals?To answer the question and to understand the repercussions of the terrorism, let us take a look at the progress made by the two programs, both before and after the assassinations.<h2>The nuclear program</h2><div type="image" title="iran nuclear reactor" height="1467" width="2200" msid="79553872" hostid="261"></div>Dr. Ardeshir Hosseinpour, an authority on electromagnetism and its application to the nuclear program, was the first major Iranian scientist to be assassinated, on January 15, 2007.Although Iran initially denied that he had been assassinated, it was <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/1.4959425">subsequently reported</a> that <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/1.4959425">he had been killed</a> by radioactive poisoning by Israel's Mossad and is now included <a href="https://www.imna.ir/news/458016/%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B4%D9%85%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%87%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%87-%D8%A7%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D9%87-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%B4%D8%AF%D9%86%D8%AF-%DA%86%D9%87-%DA%A9%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%86%D8%AF">in the list of the scientists</a> whose lives were taken by the Israeli intelligence agency..The last report by the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran's nuclear program before Dr. Hosseinpour's death was issued exactly two months before the assassination, on November 15, 2006. <a href="https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/gov2006-64.pdf">According to that report</a>, Iran had produced no enriched uranium at the time and had not built any significant number of centrifuges used for enrichment.In late 2010, Iran's Natanz nuclear facilities were attacked by the US-Israeli-designed computer worm <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/16/world/middleeast/16stuxnet.html?_r=4&amp;pagewanted=all=all">Stuxnet</a>, believed at the time to be the most sophisticated cyber weapon ever deployed. The attack <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/10/waging-cyberwar-on-irans-nuclear-program.html">destroyed</a> at least 1,000 centrifuges at Natanz. The <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/8326387/Israel-video-shows-Stuxnet-as-one-of-its-successes.html">Telegraph</a> <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/8326387/Israel-video-shows-Stuxnet-as-one-of-its-successes.html">reported</a> that Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, former chief of staff of the Israeli armed forces, confirmed his country's role in the Stuxnet attack.Between January 2010 and January 2012, four Iranian scientists were assassinated: Professor <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/world/middleeast/13iran.html">Massoud Ali Mohammadi</a> on January 12, 2010; Dr. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/29/iranian-nuclear-scientists-attack-claims">Majid Shahriari</a> on November 29, 2010; Mr. <a href="https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/sabotaging-iran-s-nuclear-program-mossad-behind-tehran-assassinations-says-source-a-777899.html">Dariush Rezaeinejad</a> on July 24, 2011, and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-16501566">Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan</a>, a senior figure in Iran's Natanz facility for uranium enrichment, on January 11, 2012.The last IAEA report on Iran's nuclear program before that wave of assassinations was issued on November 16, 2009. <a href="https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/gov2009-74.pdf">It reported</a> that Iran had produced 1763 kg of low-enriched uranium (LEU) using 3,936 centrifuges while another 4,756 centrifuges were being installed. In addition, the existence of the <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2009/09/has-iran-violated-its-nuclear-safeguards-obligations.html">Fordow fuel enrichment plant</a>, buried deep under a mountain, had been revealed, while the construction of the <a href="https://www.nti.org/learn/facilities/177/">Arak heavy water research reactor</a> had advanced.Thus, killing of Dr. Hosseinpour did not slow down development of Iran's nuclear program; if anything, the program had accelerated after his death.<div type="image" title="In this photo released by the official website of the Iranian Defense Ministry, military personnel stand near the flag-draped coffin of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a scientist who was killed on Friday, during a funeral ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Nov. 30, 2020." height="3648" width="5472" msid="79553877" hostid="261"></div>On July 14, 2015, the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, <a href="https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/JCPOA-at-a-glance">was signed by Iran and P5+1</a>. What was the status of Iran's nuclear program immediately before it signed the JCPOA, but after the wave of assassinations that ended three years before?On May 28, 2015, the IAEA report <a href="https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/gov-2015-34.pdf">stated that</a> Iran had enriched 15,968.5 kg of uranium hexafluorides up to a 5% level and another 447.8 kg of enriched uranium at 19.75% for the fuel needed for the Tehran research reactor which provides medical isotopes for about one million patients annually.The report also stated that Iran was using more than 19,000 more advanced centrifuges, while even more efficient centrifuges were approaching production. Thus, the 2010-2012 assassinations appeared to have made little, if any dent in Iran's progress.Pursuant to the JCPOA, Iran subsequently exported 97% of its LEU to Russia, placed over 13,000 centrifuges into storage; removed centrifuges from the Fordow site, destroyed the Arak research reactor, and began implementing the Additional Protocol of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which gives the IAEA the right to conduct more intrusive inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities to ensure its compliance with the NPT.In return, the Trump administration exited the JCPOA in 2018 in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 and imposed the harshest US economic sanctions against Iran.<h2>The missile program</h2><div type="image" title="iran missile" height="1334" width="2000" msid="79553880" hostid="261"></div>For two decades, the US and Israel have tried to sabotage Iran's missile program, which is its only credible conventional defense in the absence of a modern air force.In July 2001, Col. Ali Mahmoodi Mimand, one of the founders of Iran's missile program, was <a href="https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/nuke-and-dagger">found dead in his office</a> under what were described at the time as suspicious circumstances.On October 12, 2010, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/14/world/middleeast/14tehran.html">a huge explosion</a> killed 18 people and injured up to 22 others at Imam Ali military base in southwestern Iran. The base is used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to store Shahab-3 missiles. The explosion <a href="https://www.dw.com/fa-ir/%D8%B1%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%87%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%DB%8C%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%81%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%AE%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A8%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D9%85%DB%8C%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%86%D8%AF/a-15531386">was attributed</a> by Israel's press to Mossad and the MEK.<a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2011/11/news-at-least-27-dead-after-irgc-depot-blast.html">Another explosion</a> occurred on November 12, 2011, at an IRGC missile base near Tehran. It killed Maj. Gen. Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, a pioneer in Iran's missile development. The Guardian, among other sources, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/nov/14/iran-missile-death-mossad-mission">attributed the blast to Israel</a>.Still another <a href="https://apnews.com/article/8d2517ff364bb395f0385859f0fa9d0f">large explosion</a> occurred on June 27, 2020, in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khojir#cite_note-gmnyt-3">Khojir</a>, a village southeast of Tehran where the IRGC has a missile production and storage facility. Officially, the explosion was due to gas leakage, but <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/world/middleeast/iran-missile-explosion.html">many believe</a> it was carried out by Israel.None of the acts of assassinations and sabotage, with the possible exception of the Stuxnet attack, has appreciably slowed Iran's missile and nuclear programs. The science has become indigenous, and when a program's leader is killed, many are ready to take over.The Iranian government sets aside a significant fraction of the annual college freshman class in science and engineering for the children of the families that are perceived to be loyal to the Islamic Republic. Iran's military also has two universities in which its recruits specialize in the same subjects, particularly with respect to their military applications.One is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malek-Ashtar_University_of_Technology">Malek Ashtar University of Technology</a> where Dr. Hosseinpour used to work. It is a well-funded institution that, due to the suspicions that it was involved in Iran's nuclear program, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/10273528">was subject to UN sanctions </a>, which were subsequently lifted when the JCPOA took effect.<div type="image" title="Iran missile" height="2333" width="3500" msid="79553882" hostid="261"></div>The other university is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imam_Hossein_University">Imam Hossein Comprehensive University</a>, which is closely linked to the IRGC. Every year a large number of students receive scholarships from the IRGC to study there. It, too, is well funded. The <a href="https://www.nti.org/learn/facilities/264/">Parchin site</a>, the subject of much controversy regarding Iran's nuclear program, is affiliated with this university.The most lasting impact of these assassinations has certainly been the alienation of the Iranian people. As a whole, Iranians are fiercely nationalist and reject any intervention in Iran's internal affairs. But they have also historically tended to be pro-Western in their cultural and even political orientation.Unfortunately, US economic sanctions that began during the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/01/world/clinton-to-order-a-trade-embargo-against-teheran.html">Clinton administration</a> have prompted Iranians to re-evaluate their positive assessment of the United States. So they celebrated the JCPOA, seeing in it the real possibility of a renewed engagement with the United States and the West, and reasons for optimism about their future.President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate who had championed the nuclear deal and was perceived as prioritizing better relations with the West, was rewarded with a landslide victory in his bid for reelection in 2017.But Trump's withdrawal from the agreement, accompanied by ever-harsher sanctions, and the assassination last January of Major General Qasem Soleimani, have drastically changed the Iranian people's view of the United States.Similarly, although Iranians sympathize with the Palestinian people, a large segment of the population has never supported the harsh rhetoric of the clerics regarding Israel.But with Israel continuing to assassinate Iranian scientists as well as forging a de facto alliance with Saudi Arabia, Iran's number one regional rival, the view of the Iranian people regarding Israel has also become increasingly negative. Talk of akhond ha darbaareh Esrail and Amrika hagh daarand ("The mullahs are right about Israel and the US") has become very common in Iran.Given Iran's strategic importance, the change in the attitude of the Iranian people toward the US and Israel may well be the most consequential result of these acts of sabotage and murder - and that does not bode well for the future.

Iran's nuclear advances have gone on even as its scientists have been picked off one by one

Getty Images/PoolDirector of National Economic Council Larry Kudlow<ul class="summary-list"><li>As the stock market dipped in late February in response to the coronavirus crisis, Trump and his top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, were urging confidence in the markets. </li><li>Kudlow told Fox Business on <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/28/trump-aide-kudlow-urges-calm-on-coronavirus-stocks-look-pretty-cheap.html">February 28</a> that there was no indication the coronavirus would "skyrocket" in the US. "Stocks looks pretty cheap to me," he added at the time.</li><li>Only weeks earlier two Republican senators had dumped investments, after allegedly receiving briefings that the crisis would be worse than the White House was then admitting. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>A review of public statements by Trump administration officials urging confidence in the markets as the coronavirus spread reveals a stark contrast with the private behaviour of some GOP lawmakers. While the president and his top economic adviser late February were urging Americans to show confidence in the stock market and invest as the coronavirus spread, at least two GOP senators had already privately dumped stocks - after receiving classified briefings on the damage likely to be caused by the disease. "As <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/coronavirus?src=hashtag_click">#coronavirus</a> hit, Kudlow kept saying stocks were cheap. If you had listened, you'd have lost 30% of your money But senators like Loeffler and Burr (who sold up to $1.7 million in stock before the crash) aren't like you and me. They get inside information - and trade on it," tweeted Chris Lu, Deputy Labor Secretary in the Obama administration. Both lawmakers - Sen, Richard Burr and Sen. Kelly Loeffler - have denied suggestions of wrongdoing in relation to the sales. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Back on February 28 as fear gripped markets and share prices plunged, Larry Kudlow, the president's top economic adviser, told Fox Business that investors shouldn't "rule out more optimistic options."There was no guarantee cases of the disease will "skyrocket" in the US, Kudlow said at the time, adding that: "Stocks looks pretty cheap to me."In a tweet later that day Eric Trump, President Donald Trump's son, and an executive in the Trump Organization, said: "In my opinion it's a great time to buy stocks or into your 401k. I would be all in ... let's see if I'm right ..."The message seems to have since been deleted. Days earlier Trump in a tweet had sought to portray market downturns as an investment opportunity. "The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC &amp; World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!" tweeted the president on February 24. Kudlow that day said investors should take advantage of the downturn and buy back in. But we now know that lawmakers in Trump's own party were taking a very different course of action. At least two had been briefed with information from government officials on the likely devastating impact of the disease which contrasted sharply with the White House's optimistic messaging about the likely minimal impact of the virus.Sen. Richard Burr, who receives regular classified briefings as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on February 13 dumped up to $1.6 million in stocks, <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/senator-dumped-up-to-1-6-million-of-stock-after-reassuring-public-about-coronavirus-preparedness">ProPublica reported on Thursday</a> - a week before the economic crisis worsened and markets tanked.Burr's committee received a number of briefings and intelligence reports in January and February that included information about the growing coronavirus pandemic that was not made public, Senate aides have told NBC News.Most of the stocks were in the hotel sector, which has been badly impacted by the crisis. His spokesperson has said Burr's sales were made "several weeks before the US and financial markets showed signs of volatility" due to COVID-19. The statement did not address questions about what classified information Burr may have received ahead of making the sales. Six days before his selling spree, Burr had echoed the president's optimistic picture about the likely impact of the disease, writing in an op-ed America is "better prepared than ever before to face emerging public health threats, like the coronavirus."Associated PressSen. Richard Burr R-NC., sold more than $1 million of stocks in recent weeks.Hours later <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/sen-kelly-loeffler-dumped-millions-in-stock-after-coronavirus-briefing?ref=home">The Daily Beast followed</a> up with a report that Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, sold stocks on January 24, the same day that she and other lawmakers on the Senate Health Committee received a briefing on the likely impact of the disease from top administration officials, and then bought up stock in a company that sells teleworking software. "Sen. Loeffler does not make investment decisions for her portfolio," a spokesperson for the senator told Business Insider."Investment decisions are made by multiple third-party advisors without her or her husband's knowledge or involvement." But it's not just Republicans, with <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dianne-feinstein-3-senate-colleagues-sold-off-stocks-before-coronavirus-crash-reports">The New York Times</a> reporting that Sen. Diane Feinstein of California and her husband sold of stocks worth millions before the markets collapsed. Feinstein is a ranking member of the Senate Judicial Committee. "All of Senator Feinstein's assets are in a blind trust," the spokesman, Tom Mentzer, told the Times. "She has no involvement in her husband's financial decisions."Read more:<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reporter-says-trump-official-called-coronavirus-the-kung-flu-2020-3">A White House official called coronavirus the 'Kung-Flu' to an Asian-American reporter's face</a></li><li><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/white-house-requests-billions-more-emergency-coronavirus-funding-office-budget-2020-3-1029008737">The White House requests another $45.8 billion in emergency coronavirus funding</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-defends-calling-the-coronavirus-the-chinese-virus-2020-3">Trump defends using term 'Chinese virus,' calling it a response to China blaming US military for coronavirus</a></li></ul> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-coronavirus-contradicting-public-health-officials-2020-3">6 times Trump contradicted public officials about the coronavirus pandemic</a></h3>

Republican senators quietly dumped stocks after classified coronavirus briefings, even as Trump officials were urging Americans to buy into the market

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Henry RomeroPeople and soldiers near at a crime scene where a man was killed by unknown assailants outside a building in Chilpancingo, in Mexico's Guerrero state, November 15, 2017.</div></div></div><ul><li>Politically motivated killings are nothing new in Mexico, but 2017 saw the most in the past decade.</li><li>Those killings come as criminal groups fragment and as the country gears up for nationwide elections in summer 2018.</li><li>The killings and the election renew focus on the complex links between criminal and political power in Mexico.</li></ul> 2017 is set to be Mexico's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mexico-record-homicides-new-data-crime-numbers-2017-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">most violent year on record</a>, with 23,101 homicide cases opened during the first 11 months of the year. These homicide cases can contain more than one victim.A number of categories of crime saw increases in 2017, but the year also proved to be the deadliest in the past decade for Mexico's politicians - with the final days of December seeing a spate of attacks against current, former, and prospective officials.On December 24, an activist from the center-left party Citizens' Movement was found <a href="http://www.excelsior.com.mx/nacional/2017/12/26/1210101" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shot dead</a> in western Jalisco. On December 28, Saul Galindo, a state congressman and mayoral candidate from the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, was shot and killed in the same region.On December 29, Arturo Gomez, the PRD mayor of the town of Petatlan on Guerrero's Pacific coast, was shot three times through a window of a restaurant where he was dining with friends, dying later at a hospital.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Carlos JassoResidents stand near a Mexican marine guarding an area after a shootout between gang members and the Mexican army in Mexico City, July 20, 2017.</div></div></div>December 30 saw three killings. Juan Jose Castro Crespo, a former state congressional candidate from the center-right Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, was killed in Baja California. Gabriel Hernandez, a town-council member from the PRD in Jalapa in Tabasco, was found stabbed to death in his home. Mariano Catalan Ocampo, a PRD member who was municipal director of general services and was expected to run for mayor, was shot in the downtown of tourist city of Zihuatanejo on Guerrero Pacific coast.On December 31, Adolfo Serna, a PRI mayoral candidate, was shot dead in his hometown of Atoyac de Alvarez, also on Guerrero's Pacific coast, just hours after posting a Facebook message urging locals to unite to improve society.<h2>Political killings have long plagued Mexico</h2>Mexico has seen such killings in quick succession before. In the weeks leading up to national and legislative elections in June 2015, three candidates for mayor or council positions <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mexican-gangs-keep-killing-politicians-2015-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">were killed</a> in different parts of the country.Throughout Mexico over the past decade, 112 current or former elected officials, including mayors and council members, have been killed, <a href="http://www.alcaldesdemexico.com/notas-principales/2017-el-ano-mas-violento-para-alcaldes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a</a><a href="http://www.alcaldesdemexico.com/notas-principales/2017-el-ano-mas-violento-para-alcaldes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ccording</a> to Mexico's National Association of Mayors.President Felipe Calderon of the right-wing National Action Party, who was in office from 2006 to 2012 and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/militarized-police-violence-in-latin-america" target="_blank" rel="noopener">intensified the crackdown on drug trafficking</a>, had 49 elected official killed during his tenure. Eighteen of those killings, the most in a year under Calderon, came in 2010. 2011, one of the most violent years on record in Mexico, had nine political killings.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">AP Photo/Rebecca BlackwellMexican President Enrique Peña Nieto at a press conference in Mexico City, January 8, 2016.</div></div></div>Sixty-three of those deaths have come under President Enrique Peña Nieto of the PRI, who took office in December 2012. His first two years in office saw the second- and third-most killings of his tenure, despite homicides nationwide falling considerably during both years. 2017 was the deadliest of those five years, with 21 mayors or former mayors killed.Ninety of the 112 killings over the past decade have taken place in municipalities with less than 10,000 residents and with between 10,000 and 50,000 residents. These localities are often characterized by limited institutional development, a lack of public-security resources, and the presence of organized crime, according to the National Association of Mayors.<h2>Links to organized crime</h2>In states where organized-crime groups are active or influential, politicians and officials are often threatened in order to secure their cooperation. In some cases, they develop ties to those groups. (Numerous PRI governors have been accused of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mexico-governing-pri-corruption-unpopularity-2018-elections-2016-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">corruption or of having ties to organized crime</a>.)<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Christopher Woody</div></div></div>According to judicial complaints, many of those officials killed <a href="https://elpais.com/internacional/2017/12/30/mexico/1514669873_755518.html?" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have been threatened</a> by drug traffickers who wanted protection for their illicit operations.The National Association of Mayor's president, Enrique Vargas del Villar, said the principal reason for the killing of most municipal leaders was refusing to collaborate with organized-crime groups"This shows the breakdown of institutions due to the penetration of organized-crime groups that apparently try to influence the electoral process," Miguel Arroyo Ramírez, a lawyer and founding member of an anti-crime civil-society group, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/five-mexican-politicians-killed-in-past-week-ahead-of-national-elections/2018/01/02/218fb274-efd6-11e7-95e3-eff284e71c8d_story.html?tid=ss_tw&amp;utm_term=.8cee3be552ca" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told The Washington Post</a>. "When someone appears who doesn't share their interests or has different interests, these groups don't have the slightest hesitation in eliminating those who are inconvenient," Ramírez said.Politically motivated violence against elected officials and civilians alike is nothing new in Mexico, but the killings at the end of 2017 come just months before July 1 elections for president, more than 600 lawmakers, and thousands of positions in states around the country. They have also taken place amid <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/breakdown-of-gulf-cartel-is-driving-violence-in-reynosa-mexico-2017-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the fragmentation of criminal groups</a> around the country, which are breaking down in to smaller, usually more volatile groups."Organized crime has become more politicized because it's become more local," Alejandro Hope, a security consultant and former official for CISEN, Mexico's civilian intelligence agency, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-02/mexico-enters-election-year-with-spate-of-political-killings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Bloomberg</a>. "They're more concerned about who wins and who loses elections."Since 2006, 49 officials from the PRI have been killed, while the PRD has seen 27 killed and 16 from the PAN have been slain. Twenty elected officials from other parties have also been killed.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Luis EcheverriaJavier Duarte, former PRI governor of the Mexican state of Veracruz, after a court appearance for extradition proceedings in Guatemala, June 27, 2017. He has been accused of embezzlement and links to organized crime.</div></div></div>Four of the five political figures killed during the final days of 2017 were affiliated with the PRD, prompting the party's leadership to denounce the violence and demand the government address the country's rampant insecurity."It's indignant that these events are happening during an electoral process," party chief Manuel Granados said in a statement. "We call on all three branches of government to find a path to peace and security."PRD secretary general Angel Avila Romero <a href="http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/estados/exige-prd-parar-ola-de-violencia-contra-sus-militantes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called on</a> authorities to cooperate with the national electoral council to establish a violence-prevention strategy, "because we are six months from the presidential election and of course these attacks against our members are taken as a warning against participating." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/drone-captured-shocking-footage-inequality-mexico-city-south-africa-economics-apartheid-2017-8">A drone captured shocking footage of inequality in Mexico City and South Africa</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

The breakdown in Mexico's narco underworld is putting politicians in the line of fire

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Jason LeePresident of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte attends a news conference during his visit in Beijing, China, October 19, 2016.</div></div></div>Filipinos and Filipino-Americans greeted the victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential election with shock and disbelief."Oh, f-," Manila-based writer and legislative researcher Gang Badoy Capati wrote on her Facebook page, referring to how US President Barack Obama must have reacted to Hillary Clinton's loss.Capati called Trump "an obvious non-choice...a glaring un-President...Now I get why [business magnate] Elon Musk is aggressively finding a way to see a habitable Mars. He knew."Although US polls showed Trump closing the gap with Democratic Party rival Hillary Clinton, a mock poll conducted by the US Embassy in Manila among Filipino guests the day before the vote showed Clinton the runaway winner with 82 per cent over Trump at 13 per cent. That compared to an earlier survey commissioned by the South China Morning Post that found 78 per cent of Filipinos would choose the Democrat over her Republican rival."I'm shocked by Hillary's upset loss," said economist August Fernando. "Trump's win confirms my belief that the Philippines has no monopoly of BOBOTANTES [stupid voters]."A stock analyst moaned, "Bad news comes in threes - [Philippine President Rodrigo] Duterte, Brexit, Trump. USA is now Filipinised," he said, referring to the fact that both men won despite their outrageous statements and treatment of women.However, the analyst said he, like other market watchers, was in "wait-and-see" mode because Trump the president might not necessarily act like Trump the candidate - who had criticised US businesses for outsourcing jobs to the Philippines and other places.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Kazuhiro Nogi/PoolPhilippine President Rodrigo Duterte inspects Japan's coast-guard drills in Yokohama, Japan, October 27, 2016.</div></div></div>Ninotchka Rosca, a multi-award-winning Filipino-American novelist based in New York, said she expected Trump to tighten immigration laws and deport illegals. She said she was closely watching how Trump would "deal with the South China Sea conundrum. On the one hand, he's anti-China but pro-Russia and uses China's manufacturing for his business. He will likely reach a detente with China."Over in California, Filipino-American immigration lawyer Rodel Rodis confessed he was suffering from "President Trump Stress Disorder". He said Trump, "the Duterte of the West, will not care about EJKs", or extra-judicial killings in the Philippines, which had soured relations for Duterte with the Obama administration.Because of this, Rodis said, "the Trump of the East [Duterte] will not have to worry about US criticism of his human rights violations." And, he added, "There will be no pivot to Asia."One Filipino politician who appeared to call the US elections correctly was Duterte himself. Days ahead of the vote, Duterte appointed Jose Antonio - Trump's business partner in the Philippines - to the post of "special envoy to the US to enhance business ties". Antonio is chair and CEO of Century Properties, developer of Trump Tower Manila. He once served as special envoy to China and founded the Philippines-China business council.Duterte's economic planning secretary Ernesto Pernia crowed: "We have a safety net which was foreseen by the president. [Duterte] foresaw, he's a clairvoyant. He decided to pivot to China."Malacanang Palace issued a congratulatory note from Duterte saying: "President Duterte wishes President-elect Trump success in the next four years as Chief Executive and commander-in-chief of the US military, and looks forward to working with the incoming administration for enhanced Philippine-US relations anchored on mutual respect, mutual benefit and shared commitment to democratic ideals and the rule of law." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/xiaomi-new-mi-mix-better-than-iphone-2016-10">The 'Apple of China' just unveiled a phone that's more powerful and better looking than the iPhone</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="5tamMwNzE6XQnLV5ixV8UUd-PSbdYX4A" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Trump and the Philippines' Rodrigo Duterte have a lot more in common than you think

Associated Press/Ross D. FranklinAttorney General Jeff Sessions arrives for a news conference after touring the U.S.-Mexico border with border officials, Tuesday, April 11, 2017, in Nogales, Ariz.Law enforcement leaders across the country are divided over how best to tackle the Trump administration's demands that local authorities enforce federal immigration law.Some sheriffs and police chiefs have bristled under the scrutiny, while others have grown emboldened by the heightened authority.Attorney General Jeff Sessions appeared to deepen the rift earlier this week when he addressed the International Association of Chiefs of Police, reiterating his condemnations of so-called "sanctuary" jurisdictions that refuse to enforce federal immigration laws."Some mayors and city councils, and even a police chief and a sheriff here and there, are refusing to work with the federal government, choosing instead to protect the criminal aliens who harm public safety," Sessions said. "For the sake of your communities, families, and children, work with us, so we can restore a lawful system of immigration and make our country a safer place."Although the term "sanctuary city" remains undefined, it is commonly used to refer to jurisdictions that limit their cooperation with federal immigration authorities, often through declining requests from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to detain suspected undocumented immigrants.Sessions raised eyebrows last month when he <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sanctuary-cities-vow-to-resist-trump-administration-immigration-news-2017-3">threatened</a> to withhold federal grants from sanctuary jurisdictions. An executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January made similar threats, declaring it would withhold money from localities that violated federal immigration law.The decision, and Sessions' continued strong rhetoric, has provoked a strong backlash among some cities and counties - a number of which have rushed to publicly defend themselves decisions in recent weeks.California, in particular, has moved to turn the entire state into a "sanctuary." Earlier this week, the state senate passed a bill prohibiting police and sheriffs from using resources to arrest people for suspected immigration violations. It is expected to pass the state assembly, but it's unclear whether California's Democratic Governor Jerry Brown will sign it, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/10/us/sanctuary-states-immigration.html">The New York Times</a>.While the bill has been hailed by immigration advocates, police departments and sheriff's offices have had mixed reactions.Charlie Beck, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, has said he agrees with the bill's "underlying tenets" so long as they don't protect criminals, according to <a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-sanctuary-state-bill-explained-20170413-htmlstory.html">The Los Angeles Times</a>. Yet the California State Sheriffs' Association is actively lobbying against the bill."All we are doing is providing information to the federal government so that they can do their job. To restrict that doesn't make sense," Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood told the New York Times.<h2>'No one is above the law'</h2>Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesDavid Clarke.Some sheriffs feel so strongly about the issue that they've taken to publicity stunts and aggressive media interviews to condemn their law enforcement peers who disagree with the immigration crackdown.Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, one of President Donald Trump's staunchest supporters during his 2016 campaign, recently accused sanctuary cities of offering more protections to "illegal immigrants" than to American citizens."They're aiding and abetting criminality when they allow safe haven and safe harbor for people who are in the country illegally and have been arrested or convicted to some very serious crimes," he said last month on the <a href="http://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/2017/03/17/sheriff-clarke-citizens-have-fewer-protections-than-illegal-immigrants-in-sanctuary-cities.html">Fox Business Network</a>."The feds can withhold federal funding and I'm hoping that they do that because that's the carrot that we need to encourage people - when I say 'people,' law enforcement executives, elected officials, mayors, governors who want to be sanctuary cities."Clarke isn't the only one speaking up. In Massachusetts last month, one sheriff even suggested that elected officials in sanctuary cities be jailed."Longstanding immigration law is crystal clear. It's a jail-able offense to harbor or conceal criminal illegal aliens from ICE," Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson said in his testimony to a congressional subcommittee on immigration."No one is above the law and the officials of these sanctuary cities who obstruct law enforcement should be held to the same legal standards and face the same punishment as would you or I."Despite what Hodgson's statements, it is not illegal for local law enforcement agencies to refuse ICE requests to detain immigrants who have been arrested on non-immigration-related charges. Federal courts have ruled that detaining suspects past their scheduled release dates without judicial warrants can violate inmates' Fourth Amendment rights.Yet that hasn't deterred Republican lawmakers from attempting to crack down on the uncooperative jurisdictions. In Texas, a <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/tough-texas-sanctuary-cities-bill-moves-closer-approval-46755628">bill could soon be passed</a> through the state's Republican-controlled legislature that would permit criminal charges to be filed against elected officials that refuse to enforce federal immigration law.The bill cleared a House committee this week and could soon hit the floor for a vote. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has expressed militant opposition to sanctuary policies, and has already withheld $1.5 million in grant money from Travis County after it recently <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sanctuary-cities-brace-for-trumps-executive-order-on-immigration-2017-1">implemented a policy</a> to decline most ICE detainers.<h2>Immigrations and Customs Enforcement handout via Associated PressIn this Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, photo released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shows foreign nationals being arrested this week during a targeted enforcement operation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) aimed at immigration fugitives, re-entrants and at-large criminal aliens in Los Angeles.</h2><h2>'Under what authority?'</h2>But many other sheriffs and police chiefs have been reluctant to cooperate more fully with federal immigration agents and questioned the Trump administration on whether they are legally able to do so.Homeland Security officials, including Secretary John Kelly, met in late March with representatives from local law enforcement agencies to discuss immigration enforcement. But the meeting grew tense when discussion turned to cooperation on federal requests to detain immigrants, <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/tensions-flare-immigration-enforcement-local-police-trumps-dhs/story?id=46540813">according to ABC News</a>.When a senior Homeland Security official said it's legal for local police to detain suspected deportable immigrants until ICE agents arrive, the police officials attending responded, "Under what authority?" sources told ABC.Law enforcement officials pressed the Trump administration at the meeting to provide a coherent explanation of the term "sanctuary city." Many of the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sanctuary-cities-seek-definition-from-trump-administration-immigration-news-2017-3">attendees said</a> they came away from the meeting with no more clarity on the issue."We think that as long as we're complying with federal law then we shouldn't be labeled with whatever label intimates that we're not," LAPD Chief Beck told the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-garcetti-asks-federal-government-to-1490826291-htmlstory.html">LA Times</a>.The debate over sanctuary policies is expected to come to a head in the coming weeks, as a federal judge rules on whether to grant a preliminary injunction blocking Trump's Jan. 25 executive order.Lawyers for San Francisco and Santa Clara county argued in court on Friday the order is unconstitutional and could deprive the jurisdictions of billions of dollars in federal grant money, but a lawyer for the Trump administration said that the order was "narrow" in intent, and would not result in a significant funding cut. <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/watch-sean-spicer-falsely-claim-hitler-chemical-weapons-gas-attack-syria-russia-2017-4">Spicer struggles to clarify remarks after falsely claiming that Hitler didn't use chemical weapons</a></h3> Please enable Javascript to watch this video

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