The rush to promote the idea of sanctuary cities was one of the left’s first reactions to Trump’s election victory last fall. Democrats, who pushed the expansion of executive power for eight years under Obama, suddenly liked the idea of local control.
Trump’s new budget takes aim at sanctuary cities and would put them in a tricky spot.
Andrea Noble reports at the Washington Times:
Trump budget would force sanctuary cities to comply with immigration lawsA day after Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued guidance that narrowly defined a “sanctuary city,” the Justice Department is attempting to broaden its authority to compel such jurisdictions to cooperate with immigration authorities.A provision included in the Justice Department’s proposed fiscal 2018 budget seeks to update a portion of federal law, U.S.C. 1373, which bans local governments from enacting policies that restrict or prohibit communications with federal immigration authorities “regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual.”The proposed changes would require law enforcement to comply with federal immigration detainers — requests that inmates be held in custody for up to 48 hours beyond their scheduled release from jail in order to give federal immigration authorities time retrieve them.The Justice Department and Homeland Security are seeking the change “to expand the scope to prevent state and local government officials from prohibiting or restricting any government law enforcement entity or official from complying with a lawful civil immigration detainer request,” according to the budget proposal.
The budget also expands the definition of a sanctuary city and carries real financial consequences.
Alex Pfeiffer reports at the Daily Caller:
Trump Budget Dramatically Expands Definition Of Sanctuary CitiesAfter narrowing the definition of a sanctuary city recently, the White House broadens the definition in its new budget proposal, meaning that more than 100 jurisdictions would be at risk of losing federal grant money.Trump’s executive order stripping certain federal grants from sanctuary cities that was temporarily blocked by a federal judge pertained to statute 8 USC 1373, which forbids local officials from restricting information about an individual’s immigration status from the federal government.Conservative pundits and politicians, however, typically have a much broader definition of a sanctuary city: a jurisdiction that refuses to comply with immigration detainers. A document released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in March identified 118 jurisdictions that limit compliance with these detainers. The detainer requests ask agencies to hold individuals for up to 48 hours so that ICE officers can pick them up, or to let ICE know when the detainee is being released.
You can read the related memo from Attorney General Jeff Sessions here.
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