Leaders in sanctuary cities like Chicago and New York City are obstructing law enforcement and undermining public safety, former Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy told Newsmax on Sunday.
“I’ve spent 43 years trying to stop people from being victims of crime, and I will take any way that we can put somebody into custody,” McCarthy said on Newsmax’s “Sunday Agenda.” “I don’t get this sanctuary city thing. You can’t walk into Russia. You can’t walk into Germany. You can’t walk into France. So I don’t know why we allow it here.”
McCarthy pointed to sanctuary policies preventing police from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. He warned that such restrictions leave officers vulnerable and citizens less safe. “We’re out there to stop people from dying, and we’re getting obstructed by the people who the people put in office,” he said.
Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Chuck DeVore, also joining the discussion, said the refusal by Democratic mayors and governors to accept help from President Donald Trump reflects a larger political divide.
“If you’re a Democrat today, in most districts, the most important thing is to get the support of the far-left progressives,” he said. “This is about politics. We see it in Chicago, where the mayor and the governor are resisting any help at all from President Trump. And you see it in Memphis.”
DeVore highlighted crime concerns in Memphis, noting that the Tennessee city has a 15% clearance rate for murder cases and about a 20% clearance rate for violent crime.
“That means they only find one in five violent criminals who have committed a crime,” he said.
He added that Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has been in discussions with Trump about deploying the National Guard to bolster security in the city.
DeVore also pointed to the role of Tennessee’s Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy, whom he described as a “Soros district attorney.”
DeVore said outside funding helped elect Mulroy and argued that his policies have weakened law enforcement efforts. “Unfortunately, with Steve Mulroy, the DA, the Soros DA, there’s only a little bit that you can do with federal law to try to lock up these career criminals,” DeVore said.
McCarthy closed by stressing the effect of crime not only on safety, but also on quality of life.
“We’ve very clearly lost the battle on the image of crime,” he said. “Whether or not people feel safe or actually are safe, that’s really important because if you don’t feel safe, you just can’t go about your normal day.”
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