Ed Rendell: Jim Kenney Wrong To Make Philadelphia A Sanctuary City

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --  Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell thinks new Mayor Jim Kenney is wrong in re-establishing Philadelphia as a sanctuary city and suggested it would be better if he agreed to follow federal law.

Rendell, who is also a former Mayor of Philadelphia, told Rich Zeoli on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT that while he disagrees with Kenney, he also understands his motivation.

"If I were Mayor, I wouldn't do it. I think we should obey the law and remember, it's the Obama Administration that's enforcing the deportation laws. So, I think I would've not made us a sanctuary city. However, Jim Kenney has been, for the longest time, even going back to when I was Mayor, he's been an advocate for making Philadelphia a more attractive place for immigrants to come and settle and open up businesses. And I agree with that and think his policy is dead on but I think that it can only happen with legal immigrants."

He insists Kenney is just staying true to who he is.

"Making us a sanctuary city is pretty much consistent with what Jim Kenney has stood for for the last 20 years. I think, overall, his concept and idea is correct. We do want to attract immigrants because immigrants bring a special vitality and a yearning and a willingness to do hard, difficult work. He brings those to the fore. But I think we should follow the law."

Rendell also addressed the charges filed against Bill Cosby for sexual assault in Montgomery County and predicted the District Attorney will not have an easy time winning a conviction.

"I'm not surprised, given all the women who have come forward, that's a weight of evidence which convinces a prosecutor that there was more than just smoke here and that there is probably some validity to what the witness said. The problem is that this is a very old case. It just barely got in under the statute of limitations, number one. Number two, there's very little corroboration to what the witness said. It's going, basically, to be her word versus Mr. Cosby's word. And number three, there's no guarantee that the prosecutor will be able to get evidence from these other victims into the trial itself."