Daily Mail

Trump plan to release migrants in rivals’ cities

- From Daniel Bates in New York

DONALD Trump considered freeing detained illegal migrants in cities controlled by political rivals in the hope they would commit crimes and win him new supporters, leaked emails reveal.

Among the places the US President considered targeting was the San Francisco district of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the most powerful Democrat in Congress and his strongest political rival.

He also wanted to bus migrants to other ‘sanctuary cities’, places which refuse to co-operate with his migration policies.

Mr Trump has previously accused immigrants of carrying out murders, rapes and other

high-profile crimes. The Washington Post reported that the proposal was dreamt up by his hard-line immigratio­n adviser Stephen Miller in November as groups of migrants headed to the US’s southern border.

The White House got on board and hoped it would ‘send a message to Democrats’. Mr Trump asked his then homeland security secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, about it, but immigratio­n officials said it would not work.

Yesterday Miss Pelosi said: ‘The extent of this administra­tion’s cynicism and cruelty cannot be overstated.’

The Department of Homeland Security said: ‘This was just a suggestion that was floated and rejected, which ended any further discussion.’

‘Cynicism cannot be overstated’

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