WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Trump hosted a roundtable discussion with law enforcement officials, cabinet members and multiple Republican lawmakers on “sanctuary” cities today.
Participants called for the defunding and penalizing of “sanctuary” jurisdictions that limit involvement with federal immigration authorities, particularly San Francisco and the state of California in its entirety. However, immigration enforcement remains a federal responsibility, and such jurisdictions regularly cooperate with federal immigration officials.
“Compelling states and localities to carry out immigration enforcement burdens local law enforcement with a federal responsibility,” said Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum. “Trust between communities and law enforcement is essential to keeping families safe, and defunding or penalizing jurisdictions based on a misnomer undermines that.
“The Trump administration needs to stop politicizing public safety. Local law enforcement know how to keep their cities safe, and they need the federal resources to do it.”