Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has joined the call to cease so-called "sanctuary cities," and said he would hold elected officials criminally accountable for not complying with federal law enforcement.

Jindal spoke about jurisdictions such as San Francisco who do not have to transfer detained undocumented immigrants to federal law officials. He told Boston Herald Drive the mayors of jurisdictions not following federal law should be arrested.

"I would hold them (mayors) as an accomplice. Make them criminally culpable," said Jindal.

The topic of sanctuary cities heightened following the death of a San Francisco woman, Kathryn Steinle, by an undocumented immigrant who was deported on five previous occasions due to drug felony crimes.

In Congress, Republicans have introduced legislation that would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act and make state and local jurisdictions ineligible of federal funding if they refuse to comply on reporting detained immigrants sought by federal immigration agents. One such bill in the House of Representatives was introduced by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. H.R. 3009, however, and the assessment of sanctuary cities have been criticized by Latino leaders and organizations.

"We should not allow shameless, anti-immigrant politicians to frame our nation's policy debate," said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. "We reject this bill and any policies that further criminalize immigrants and communities of color. The labor movement will accept nothing less than real and comprehensive solutions to our nation's immigration crisis. We have endured enforcement-only strategies for decades, and we have yet to see one that protects workers. They're unjust, and they don't work. Enough already."

Jindal said mayors of sanctuary cities should also be liable for civil damages. He told Boston Herald Radio, "Especially if the prosecutor isn't taking action or if the mayor's not changing their ways, I'd allow the families to go to court and sue them civilly as well to recover damages."

The Republican presidential candidate introduced the "Partners in Crime Plan," aimed to hold city officials for sanctuary city policies. The plan would request Congress to criminalize sanctuary city policies and allow victims and their families the right to civilly sue local, state and federal officials for not enforcing the Immigration and Naturalization Act or being an accessory for enacting polices.

"My plan will hit these lawless city leaders where it hurts by holding them directly accountable for crimes," said Jindal in a statement. "If on their watch, an illegal immigrant breaks the law, we will count sanctuary city leaders as accessories and force them to pay for these crimes. Sanctuary City leaders are flouting the laws of the United States and that is unacceptable."

Jindal has previous voiced his opposition to President Barack Obama's deferred action executive actions -- the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) -- that would allow approximately 4.9 million undocumented immigrants temporary but renewable three-year stay in the U.S. based on eligibility criteria by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Jindal is the son of Indian immigrants. According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency within DHS, India accounts for the third largest DACA applicants from the Asian continent. The USCIS noted at least 3,297 Indians applied for DACA between 2012 and 2014.

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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Politics Editor Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.

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