These Big Cities Refuse to Give Up Illegal ‘Sanctuary’ Status

The day after Election Day, Seattle’s Mayor Ed Murray pledged that Seattle will remain a sanctuary city for undocumented immigrants, even if that means losing federal funding. That’s a real risk because President-elect Donald Trump, even before he won the presidential election vowed to crack down on cities that shield illegal aliens from federal immigration authorities, promising to block federal taxpayer dollars from going to them.

As my colleague, streiff explained in this piece,  Trump’s Contract With the American Voter — his plan for the first hundred days of his presidency — includes canceling all federal funding to sanctuary cities as one of the five things Trump will do on day one of his presidency to restore security and the constitutional rule of law.

Seattle isn’t the only sanctuary city to say it will defy the anticipated federal crackdown on the sanctuary cities. Reuters reports that the mayors Los Angeles and New York also promised their cities would also remain sanctuaries to illegals and said they hoped Trump would not follow through on a campaign promise to withhold federal funds from “sanctuary cities” that shield people who are in the country illegally:

The nation’s two largest cities have sharply limited their cooperation with U.S. immigration authorities seeking to deport undocumented immigrants.

[. . .]

New York and Los Angeles do not hold undocumented inmates in jail at the request of the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unless the detainer request is accompanied by a judge’s order, officials said.

San Francisco also joined the always sanctuary movement. As you will recall San Francisco is where Kate Steinle shot and killed walking on a busy pier with her father. The accused shooter – 45-year-old Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez — is an undocumented immigrant and repeat felon who has been deported five times.

Philadelphia is another City which has committed to continuing to protect undocumented individuals.

Today Chicago is pledging to remain a sanctuary city for undocumented immigrants, joining the gro9wing list of rebellious cities seeking to defy Trump.

Trump shouldn’t have much trouble getting support in the House of Representatives. In 2015, the House passed legislation that would deny federal funds to sanctuary cities voting 241-179. Critics of sanctuary cities say such policies encourage people to immigrate to the U.S. illegally at the expense of citizens.

The Senate may be a different matter. As we reported over the weekend, Getting Trump’s End Illegal Immigration Act through the Senate won’t be easy with Sen. Charles “Chuck” Schumer as the new Senate Minority Leader. In 2006, after Senate Republicans reached a compromise on the status millions illegals in the U.S., Democrats, led by Schumer wanted a political advantage more than they wanted immigration reform.

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