From California to Pennsylvania, Americans seemingly are shifting their viewpoints on their support of sanctuary cities.
Elected officials in many local communities have said they are sanctuaries for illegal immigrants. Local leaders have publicly said they refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday announced the Trump administration is taking steps to use federal funds to crack down on ‘sanctuary cities.’ The news came shortly after the Trump administration has made concerted efforts to pressure so-called ‘sanctuary’ jurisdictions as part of its aggressive push to enforce immigration laws, CNN reported.
The term ‘sanctuary’ refers to jurisdictions in local communities, and major cities, like Philadelphia, that have policies in place that limit cooperation in enforcing federal immigration laws and protect local immigrant populations, CNN explained. One of the biggest areas of disagreement between cities and the federal government is over allowing federal immigration officers to make arrests, and house illegal immigrants in local jails and prisons.
Sessions emphasized Monday that cities and states hoping to receive federal funds or grants must comply with federal law requiring local authorities to share citizenship or immigrant status of individuals to the Immigration and Naturalization Service if requested. Sessions did not specify which cities or which funds the department may roll back as it has threatened.
Do you favor or oppose sanctuary cities?
