[Sabertooth]

But they had the side effect of clobbering all immigration enforcement. They never got repealed, and got expanded as the years went by.

The sanctuary cities were primarily municipal measures which had no real effect on federal powers of immigration and naturalization. The feds failed on their own.

Also, the larger failure of the feds was subsequent to the 1986 Amnesty anyway. Sanctuary cities had nothing to do with the feds refusal to enforce laws against employers who hire Illegals.

[Poohbah]

The sanctuary cities were primarily municipal measures which had no real effect on federal powers of immigration and naturalization. The feds failed on their own.

The Border Patrol and the INS rely on cooperation with local law enforcement for targeting information. Let me blindfold you and have you get into a fistfight with someone less skilled than you are, but not blindfolded. Care to make a small wager on the outcome?

Also, the larger failure of the feds was subsequent to the 1986 Amnesty anyway. Sanctuary cities had nothing to do with the feds refusal to enforce laws against employers who hire Illegals.

They actually tried to. Unfortunately, juries refused to convict, persistently believing the employers' claims that they were victimized by "cleverly forged IDs" that Mister Magoo could recognize as fake...