Trump Escalates Sanctuary City Crackdown

Via American Action News:

Sanctuary cities are now reeling after President Trump delivered an ultimatum via Twitter that he would withhold their federal funding if they refused to assist federal immigration authorities.
 

As per recent Federal Court ruling, the Federal Government will be withholding funds from Sanctuary Cities. They should change their status and go non-Sanctuary. Do not protect criminals!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 5, 2020

Trump’s tweet follows a ruling by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals that federal funding can be withheld from sanctuary jurisdictions. (Hot Air)

The ruling came after numerous courts had ruled against the Trump administration claiming it didn’t have the authority to impose immigration-related conditions on certain funding. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals said, hold on, there’s a grant program for that.

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled on Feb. 26 that the Department of Justice (DOJ) could withhold funding from cities and states that refuse to cooperate with the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants.

The three-judge panel found Congress had delegated authority to the attorney general to set conditions on the federal grant program it had created, called the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program.

The policy decision from the Trump administration was announced in 2017 and the lawsuits followed. The policy is to be a deterrent to cities and states that want to ignore federal immigration law and allow illegal immigrants to live and work in their cities without legal consequences, the first step being deportation. Federal law trumps, so to speak, state and local jurisdiction on immigration. Cities don’t get to dictate which federal laws they will or will not enforce.