‘Scare tactic’ Trump memo threatens sanctuary cities if they don’t go along with deportation orders

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‘Scare tactic’ Trump memo threatens sanctuary cities if they don’t go along with deportation orders
Author: Josh Marcus
Published: Jan, 23 2025 00:55

Trump tried to pull funding from sanctuary cities during first term. The Trump administration is directing federal prosecutors to investigate and potentially bring charges against state and local officials who do not cooperate with its plans to carry out the nation’s largest campaign of mass deportations, according to an internal memo.

Though it doesn’t mention such jurisdictions by name, the document is the latest statement by the Trump administration to suggest it will seek to force “sanctuary cities” that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement to get behind the White House’s hard-line agenda.

About a dozen states and hundreds of cities have some form of sanctuary policies, which often bar local police from using resources to arrest or detain migrants solely on the basis of federal immigration offenses. Supporters of such sanctuary policies argue local officials cooperating with immigration enforcement makes immigrants of all statuses wary to engage with the government, getting in the way of public priorities like healthcare, education, and safety.

Some law enforcement officials also take issue with how federal officials seek cooperation, in which police are often asked to hold migrants, often without a full federal warrant, already booked for other crimes until federal agents can arrive. Critics of this approach say such local detention for federal immigration offenses, which are civil, is unlawful.

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