President Donald Trump says the federal government will halt “any payments” to sanctuary jurisdictions, those localities and states that refuse to cooperate with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), beginning next month.
Speaking at the Detroit Economic Club on Tuesday, Trump announced that his administration would be cutting off federal money to sanctuary jurisdictions for their attempts to impede ICE from enforcing federal immigration law.
“Starting Feb. 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:
And 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. [Emphasis added]
It is unclear which funds and grants would be cut off by the Trump administration, or which sanctuary jurisdictions.
Previously, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has listed more than 30 cities, counties, and states that it classifies as sanctuary jurisdictions. The Center for Immigration Studies, though, has listed well over 100 sanctuary jurisdictions that work to stop ICE agents from taking custody of criminal illegal aliens.
