LOS ANGELES, March. 7 (Xinhua) -- Governor of U.S. western state of California, Jerry Brown, slammed on Wednesday the U.S. Justice Department's lawsuit against it as "basically going to war" with "the engine of the American economy."
Brown and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra held a press conference at Sacramento, the capital of California, to defend the state's laws following a speech by U.S. Attorney General Jefferson Sessions who said on Wednesday that California state's laws were unconstitutional for preventing federal immigration agents from doing their jobs.
"This is really unprecedented for the chief law enforcement (officer) to come out to California, act more like Fox News than a law enforcement officer," said Brown.
"The federal government ought to do its job and not blame California," said the governor, noting that Sessions' action was dividing America.
"What Jeff Sessions said is simply not true and I call upon him to apologize to the people of California for bringing the mendacity of Washington to California," he added.
The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Sacramento, accusing California of interfering with federal immigration efforts by passing and enforcing state laws that impede U.S. operations against undocumented people.
The lawsuit is seen as an escalation of the long-running battle between Washington and California on matters ranging from immigration and climate change to criminal justice.
