President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday instructing the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security to create a list of all sanctuary cities failing to adhere to federal immigration laws, providing them a chance to abandon their sanctuary status.
The order comes as Trump seeks to speed up deportations, following through on a key promise he made on the campaign trail during his third bid for president.
But so-called “sanctuary cities,” or jurisdictions that limit the ability of local agencies to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, have restricted his ability to do so.
“It’s quite simple: obey the law, respect the law, and don’t obstruct federal immigration officials and law enforcement officials when they are simply trying to remove public safety threats from our nation’s communities,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday. “The American public don’t want illegal alien criminals in their communities. They made that quite clear on November 5, and this administration is determined to enforce our nation’s immigration laws.”
Specifically, the executive order will notify sanctuary cities of their status and allow them to drop the sanctuary title — or risk losing federal funding. Additionally, it instructs Attorney General Pam Bondi and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to “pursue all legal remedies” to push sanctuary cities into compliance with federal law, according to a Monday White House fact sheet shared with Fox News Digital. More here
