by Daniel Finkelstein
News Partner 13WHAM

Rochester, N.Y. (WHAM) — Court filings this week outline the Department of Justice’s request to have three of the City of Rochester’s sanctuary policies judged void and unenforceable.

The federal government is honing in on the City of Rochester’s Resolution 2017-5, in which the city council reaffirmed Rochester’s 1986 sanctuary city status on Feb. 21, 2017.

They’re also targeting the Rochester Police Department Training Bulletin P-75-17 and General Order 502, which stipulate that city resources, including Rochester police, cannot be used to enforce federal immigration laws.

The Trump administration argues the policies also violate the U.S. Constitution’s 10th Amendment supremacy clause, arguing federal law supersedes city policy.

Notably, the DOJ argues that the city’s sanctuary policies purposefully hinder the federal government from carrying out immigration enforcement, writing in part: "These policies, which Rochester claims are public safety and crime prevention policies, actually pose a danger to the community."

The lawsuit came after a March 24 encounter between Rochester police and federal agents on Whitney Street, which put the city into the national spotlight.

City leaders said RPD officers likely violated sanctuary policy by assisting Border Patrol officers during that stop.

"We are not to be handcuffing subjects," Rochester Police Chief David Smith said during a March 26 press briefing. "We are not to be doing pat frisks on subjects, and we are absolutely not going to be detaining them or putting them into our cars."

Three men were arrested in the Whitney Street traffic stop, one of whom pleaded guilty in June to illegal re-entry.

U.S. border czar Tom Homan would eventually visit Rochester in April, speaking with police union leaders and expressing support for the Rochester officers involved.

"His message was received loud and clear," Rochester Police Locust Club President Geoffrey Wiater said April 29 after Homan’s visit. "It was first and foremost that cops always support other cops."

"Rochester is under attack," Mayor Malik Evans said during the March 26 presser. "We have never seen anything like this in our city’s history in which the federal government is picking on a medium-sized city in Upstate New York, but what I think the city fails to remember is that we’re the city of Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony.

13WHAM has reached out to the City of Rochester for comment and has not yet heard back. Evans has vowed the city will fight the lawsuit vigorously in court.