The Democrat mayor of Oakland, California, Libby Schaaf, issued a public announcement Monday warning illegal aliens of an impending raid by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Schaaf defended her illegal action stating that it was her “duty and moral obligation as mayor to give those families fair warning when that threat appears imminent.” By Wednesday, ICE had conducted its sweep and was able to collect 150 illegal aliens, though another 864 criminal aliens targeted for arrest were able to avoid capture.

Following the raid, ICE Deputy Director Thomas Homan publicly blasted Schaaf, stating, “The Oakland mayor’s decision to publicize her suspicions about ICE operations further increased the risk for my officers and alerted criminal aliens — making clear that this reckless decision was based on her political agenda with the very federal laws that ICE is sworn to uphold.” Homan added, “However, 864 criminal aliens and public safety threats remain at large in the community, and I have to believe that some of them were able to elude us thanks to the mayor’s irresponsible decision. Unlike the politicians who attempt to undermine ICE’s critical mission, our officers will continue to fulfill their sworn duty to protect public safety.”

Schaaf sought again to defend her actions with an absurd and contradictory statement: “I do not regret sharing this information. It is Oakland’s legal right to be a sanctuary city and we have not broken any laws. We believe our community is safer when families stay together. We know that law-abiding residents live in fear of arrest and deportation every day. My priority is for the long-term well-being of Oakland, and I know that our city is safer when we share information that leads to community awareness.”

The mayor’s claims here would be frankly laughable if the situation wasn’t so criminal. With her references to having not broken any laws, the mayor must believe that she is a law unto herself, not bound by any laws outside of her own ideals. The fact is Schaaf has broken the law, as Hot Air’s Jazz Shaw clearly points out, and she needs to be held to account. The Justice Department is looking into it. While her willful cognitive dissidence regarding what constitutes legal versus illegal should be shocking, unfortunately it has become par for the course among California’s Democrats.

Enter House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. She jumped to Schaaf’s defense and railed against Donald Trump and his commitment to enforce the nation’s immigration laws, claiming that Trump was abusing his law enforcement power, using it “indiscriminately” and in a “cowardly” fashion against those “hard-working, law-abiding … patriotic” illegal aliens. Both Pelosi and Schaaf redefine and reverse the definitions of the terms “lawful”, “legal” and “safe” to fit their own political agendas. But Pelosi has taken it a step further. Recall that just last week she labeled the Republican tax cut “unpatriotic.” Now here she is describing non-citizen, illegal aliens as “patriotic.” By definition, illegal aliens are law-breakers who don’t pay taxes and are taking advantage of community benefits afforded by taxpaying Americans. How exactly is that patriotic, Nancy? Stealing, lying and cheating, which every single illegal alien is guilty of, let alone the more serious crimes that many have been caught engaging in, are not what constitutes patriotism.