The Federal government has sent New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu a letter demanding that he prove that he is in compliance with immigration law. But Landrieu is fighting back and lashing out at the Justice Department.

From WWL-TV:

Mayor Mitch Landrieu was one of nine recipients of letters from the Justice Department asking to prove that they are cooperating with federal immigration authorities or risk losing law-enforcement grant money.

Landrieu responded late Friday evening with a sharp rebuttal: “If anybody in the Trump administration would actually do some research before firing off letters, they would see that the City of New Orleans has already provided the Department of Justice documentation that shows we are in compliance with federal immigration laws. ”

The letters went to so-called “sanctuary cities” the DOJ’s inspector general has previously said have rules that limit information available to U.S. immigration officials.

New Orleans was among the 100 communities that “limit cooperation” with the federal government, according to a list the Trump administration put out in March. The city was accused of failing to comply with a request from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain undocumented immigrants for possible deportation.

Here’s a copy of the letter.

Dept. of Justice letter to Mayor Landrieu by Sam Winstrom on Scribd

Mitch also said that the New Orleans Police Department will not serve as “a civil deportation force” for Donald Trump. Although no one is asking them to.

For their part, Attorney General Jeff Landry and U.S. Senator John Kennedy are asking Mitch to comply with the DOJ. Both men warn that the city could lose Federal funding.

“By continuing to push his radical agenda, the mayor is going to lose pivotal funds that pay for police officers – placing an even heavier burden on the taxpayers of Louisiana through the supplemental services of the State Police,” Landry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Landrieu administration says they are in compliance. However, they have not ruled a lawsuit against the Feds if the grant money is taken.