President says states protecting undocumented immigrants will lose federal payments starting Feb. 1
President Donald Trump announced early Wednesday that his administration will strip federal funding from “sanctuary cities” and states, in line with policies he promoted on the campaign trail.
“EFFECTIVE FEBRUARY FIRST, NO MORE PAYMENTS WILL BE MADE BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO STATES FOR THEIR CORRUPT CRIMINAL PROTECTION CENTERS KNOWN AS SANCTUARY CITIES,” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“ALL THEY DO IS BREED CRIME AND VIOLENCE! If States want them, they will have to pay for them! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” I have added.
The post follows his Tuesday speech at the Detroit Economic Club, where he said sanctuary cities “do everything possible to protect criminals at the expense of American citizens.”
“Sanctuary jurisdictions” often limit local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. Some also provide social benefits to undocumented immigrants.
In August, Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to 32 sanctuary jurisdictions deemed noncompliant with federal immigration laws.
The list of states included California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
She urged them to comply with the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts or lose funding, citing an executive order signed by Trump in April.
The order directs Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to “identify appropriate Federal funds to sanctuary jurisdictions, including grants and contracts, for suspension or termination, as appropriate.”
The latest move comes after a federal judge ruled the executive order, which would have paused funding for more than 30 “sanctuary cities,” was likely unconstitutional. US District Judge William Orrick, who was appointed by former President Obama, extended his preliminary injunction in August after the administration did little to object to the original order.
Orrick also swept officials from imposing conditions on grant programs that provide funding “for a variety of critical needs.”
Still, the Department of Homeland Security ramped up pressure on “sanctuary jurisdictions” by publicly listing more than 500 of them, including cities, counties and states, arguing they put American lives at risk by obstructing immigration enforcement.
The president’s crackdown on illegal immigration has also sparked protests across the U.S. Most recently, the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman last week by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer and another shooting by Border Patrol agents in Portland, Ore., have fanned the flames.
Trump officials have maintained the immigration officials were acting in self-defense, despite pushback on the justification.
Trump administration suspends $10 billion in federal aid for children and families in California
