Attorney General Jeff Sessions had a serious warning Monday for defiant urban leaders who embrace so-called “sanctuary cities”: You can say goodbye to Justice Department grants.
In other words, it’s time to obey the law — or lose billions in tax dollars.
Liberal cities across the nation are attempting to defy White House orders and protect criminal illegal immigrants from deportation.
Such policies, Sessions said, “endanger the lives of every American” and violate federal law. He said the Trump White House could withhold or “claw back” funding from any city that “willfully violates” immigration law.
Sessions said the Justice Department would require cities seeking some of the $4.1 billion available in grant money to verify they are in compliance with a section of federal law that allows information sharing with immigration officials.
Failure to prove lawfulness would result in massive financial losses for these resistant cities.
“I strongly urge our nation’s states and cities and counties to consider carefully the harm they are doing to their citizens by refusing to enforce our immigration laws, and to rethink these policies,” he charged.
Sessions directed his comments towards cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, who’s government leaders refuse to accept President Donald Trump’s orders to deport criminal illegal immigrants.
These “sanctuary cities” have announced they will not work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials after they have detained an illegal immigrant, even though federal law required them to inform federal authorities.
“Failure to deport aliens who are convicted of criminal offenses puts whole communities at risk, especially immigrant communities in the very sanctuary jurisdictions that seek to protect the perpetrators,” Sessions said at a White House briefing.
But liberal leaders can’t seem to wrap their heads around the fact that the sole purpose of Trump’s orders is to protect our legal citizens — and instead they are focusing on the safety of illegal immigrants who sneak into our country and violate our laws.
Trump’s candidacy focused heavily on illegal immigration, shedding light on the American desire for stronger borders.
Recent crimes have brought illegal immigration into the spotlight, specifically the recent rape of a 14-year-old Maryland girl in her own school by two illegal immigrants — a horrific crime that was largely ignored by the mainstream media.
Sessions’ White House briefing shows the Trump administration’s focus on maintaining their promise of secure borders and make America safe again.
The Horn editorial team and The Associated Press contributed to this article.