WASHINGTON — President Trump said Tuesday that he’s preparing to halt federal funding to sanctuary cities and states on Feb. 1 — potentially yanking billions in revenue in response to laws barring cooperation with immigration agents.
“Starting February 1, we’re not making any payments to sanctuary cities or states having sanctuary cities because they do everything possible to protect criminals at the expense of American citizens,” Trump said during a speech in Detroit.
“It breeds fraud and crime and all of the other problems that come. So we’re not making any payment to anybody that supports sanctuary cities.”
A list published in August by the Justice Department identifies 12 states — including California, Illinois and New York — and five of the nation’s 10 largest cities such as the Big Apple as sanctuary jurisdictions.
“You’ll see. It will be significant,” Trump added later to reporters when asked about the funding cuts.
Advocates of sanctuary laws argue that they make illegal immigrants who are crime victims feel comfortable engaging with law enforcement.
Opponents highlight the fact that the policies prevent the deportation of violent criminals when prisons and jails balk at “detainer” requests from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
It’s unclear how comprehensive the financial pullback would be and if certain programs — such as state-administered Medicaid and food stamps — would be exempted.
Trump has long threatened to withhold federal funds over policy disagreements with Democrats — including threatening in 2020 to pull money from alleged “anarchist jurisdictions” that experienced sustained disorder after the murder of George Floyd.The president and his team have been increasingly willing to follow through during his second term — with Attorney General Pam Bondi last February throttling federal law enforcement resources for sanctuary jurisdictions.
The Department of Health and Human Services this month froze social services funding to five states citing fraud concerns, impacting resources from the Child Care Development Fund, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program and the Social Services Block Grant program.
States and cities are likely to sue over any withholding of funds.
A New York federal judge in October barred the Federal Emergency Management Agency from withholding $34 million in anti-terrorism grants to New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority after FEMA told Congress it would pull those funds due to the Big Apple’s sanctuary policies.
