President Donald Trump has announced he intends to halt all federal funding to "sanctuary cities" in response to laws blocking cooperation with immigration agents.
In a speech in Detroit on Tuesday, the President said: “Starting February 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.
“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 cities.”
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In August, the Department of Justice published a dossier identifying Democrat-run states and cities with sanctuary policies in place, which "impede enforcement of federal immigration laws".
The list highlighted 12 states, including California, New York and Illinois, as well as major cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City.
When the document was published, Attorney General Pam Bondi said sanctuary laws "put American citizens at risk by design".
She vowed: “The Department of Justice will continue bringing litigation against sanctuary jurisdictions and work closely with the Department of Homeland Security to eradicate these harmful policies around the country.”
President Donald Trump has announced he intends to halt all federal funding to sanctuary cities
|GETTY
When Mr Trump was questioned further about the funding cuts after the speech, he said: “You’ll see. It will be significant."
Details of the cuts have yet to emerge and it is unknown whether it will impact programmes such as Medicaid health insurance or food stamps.
The President has been embroiled in a long-running battle with sanctuary jurisdictions which runs back to his first term in office.
In the wake of the BLM riots in 2020, Mr Trump vowed to turn off the tap to "anarchist jurisdictions" which fell victim to chaos after the death of George Floyd.
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Attorney General Pam Bondi said sanctuary laws 'put American citizens at risk by design'
| REUTERS
Mr Trump previously vowed to turn off the tap to 'anarchist jurisdictions' which saw chaos after the death of George Floyd
|GETTY
While advocates of sanctuary policies have argued the laws protect illegal migrants who are victims of "crime" in interactions with law enforcement, opponents say it frustrates efforts to remove violent criminals from the country.
Last February, Ms Bondi ordered the Department of Justice to halt federal law enforcement resources for jurisdictions with sanctuary policies in place.
Two months later, Mr Trump signed an Executive Order to enforce federal law in sanctuary jurisdictions to "protect their citizens from dangerous illegal aliens".
After signing the legislation, he declared: “No more sanctuary cities. They protect the criminals, not the victims.
It expected that states and cities that see their federal funding slashed will launch legal action
|GETTY
"They are disgracing our country, and are being mocked all over the world.
Working on papers to withhold all federal funding for any city or state that allows these death traps to exist."
It expected that states and cities that see their federal funding slashed will launch legal action against the Trump administration.
The announcement comes just days after after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot activist Renee Good, after she drove her vehicle towards a federal agent.
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