Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner called out President Trump for his mass deportation plan of illegal immigrants.
Philadelphia’s progressive DA Larry Krasner condemned President Donald Trump’s plan to carry out mass deportations of illegal immigrants shortly after his inauguration to a second term on Monday. Krasner, who was elected to his position in 2017, also criticized Trump’s pardons of January 6th rioters in a statement on Wednesday. Krasner announced his plans to seek a third term in office in April.
“Arrests and prosecutions are based on probable cause, not on whether you agree or disagree with a political position,” the statement read. “My office and others will continue to uphold the US constitution and the rule of law.” Krasner’s statement comes as the Justice Department prepares for continuing legal battles with sanctuary cities that do not comply with President Trump’s deportation plans. It’s unclear whether Krasner plans on issuing his own legal challenges to the policies of the Trump administration or the federal government.
Krasner has long been publicly critical of Republican politics and Donald Trump, most recently after he filed a lawsuit against the latter’s 2024 presidential campaign for Elon Musk’s $1 million voter registration giveaway. Krasner claimed Musk was holding an “illegal lottery” and was not protected by political speech under the first amendment. Krasner also backed officials for Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration testifying before Philadelphia City Council about plans to review Trump’s new executive orders. Parker’s testimony comes shortly after Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove published a memo warning local officials who plan not to comply with Trump’s immigration policies. Bove also called for federal prosecutors to investigate local officials for “resisting, obstructing, and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands.”
Bove continued that “it is the responsibility of the Justice Department to defend the constitution, and accordingly, to lawfully execute the policies that the American people elected President Trump to implement.” Krasner responded, claiming Bove’s interpretation of federal law was incorrect, and accused Bove of attempting to “normalize the notion that President Trump has authority he doesn’t have.” Krasner did not specify in his statement what specific authority he believes the federal government does not have, but said he feared the “illegal actions” Trump and his administration might seek in regard to immigration. Krasner did not detail how his team plans to interact with ICE agents seeking to carry out immigration-related raids.
Krasner, who narrowly won reelection in 2021, and shortly thereafter faced an impeachment inquiry, followed up on his comments by accusing Trump and Deputy Attorney General Bove of trying to elaborately scare local officials into complying with their agenda, and said he “would not be intimidated” into following through on President Trump’s executive orders.
