These sanctuaries don’t protect U.S.
President Trump needs to stick to his policy
President Trump has now been hit with a lawsuit over a policy he hasn’t acted on yet — his threat to withhold federal funds from so-called sanctuary cities that defy federal law by harboring illegal immigrants.
But just as he has with legal challenges to his ban on travelers from terrorism-producing nations, Trump should stand firm on illegal immigration, and honor his commitment to the American people to restore law and order in our country. He promised Angel Moms, who’ve lost loved ones to crimes by illegal immigrants, that he would get serious about immigration reform and protect us from lawbreakers who don’t belong here.
Activist lawyers filed suit yesterday on behalf of sanctuary cities Chelsea and Lawrence, claiming Trump’s executive order threatening to cut off funds is unconstitutional and “an affront to federalism.”
Let’s get this straight: Depriving cities of federal funds because they choose to ignore federal law, that’s the alleged “affront to federalism” — the system that delegates local matters to local government, while leaving national matters, such as secure borders, foreign affairs and national security, to the federal government. That’s their argument. The suit also suggests federal funding is a matter of “equal protection under the law” for people whose very presence here is an affront to the law.
Yesterday, I skyped into the White House press briefing and asked press secretary Sean Spicer about Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s vow to house illegal immigrants in City Hall.
“The president’s executive order is pretty clear. … There’s a concern about the safety of the American people and how we let people come into this country. And second, with respect to the American taxpayer, if we’re going to be sending federal tax dollars to folks through Washington I think the funds need to be used appropriately. And I think the president is going to use everything in his power to respect the money the taxpayer sends to Washington and is spent facilitating legal activities and on American citizens,” Spicer said. “The president’s going to do everything he can within the scope of the executive order to make sure that cities who don’t comply with it — counties and other institutions that remain sanctuary cities — don’t get federal government funding.”
Voters understand that we have two immigration systems in America — a legal one and an illegal one. Cities that insist on ignoring immigration laws are fueling a dysfunctional system that led to the deaths of American citizens like Matthew Denice and Kate Steinle. Trump should fight these lawsuits with all available resources, so Trump can use the power of the purse to get rogue cities into compliance.