Several big city mayors across the U.S. vowed on Wednesday to defy President Trump’s executive order that threatens to cut off federal funding to cities that offer some sort of protection to undocumented immigrants in their communities.
The pushback from the mayors came as Trump signed a long-anticipated executive order that directs the government to identify federal money it can withhold to punish so-called “sanctuary cities,” a term for hundreds of communities that in some way limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agents. Trump had pledged to take action against sanctuary cities on the campaign trail.
But as Trump announced the order — as well as action to build a wall along the U.S-Mexico border and hire thousands of new border patrol agents and immigration officers — leaders of some of the nation’s biggest cities flatly stated they would not be cooperating with the president.
In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio vowed that the action “won’t change how we enforce the law in New York City.”
De Blasio said that the city has been able to dramatically reduce the crime rate in the nation’s largest city, in part, because relationships the police department has managed to build in immigrant communities. He added that if Trump follows through with the plan it would mean he’s effectively cutting funding from the New York Police Department. An early analysis by NYC officials suggested that about $156 million in federal funding for the NYPD could be impacted.
“Here in New York City and in cities across the nation, this executive order could in fact undermine public safety and make our neighborhoods less safe,” De Blasio said.
In Boston, Mayor Marty Walsh called the executive order an attack on “Boston’s people, Boston’s strength and Boston’s values.”
“If people want to live here, they’ll live here,” Walsh told reporters at a news conference. “They can use my office. They can use any office in this building.”
In Seattle, Mayor Ed Murray said that he had directed city departments to review their budgets to prepare for a potential loss of federal funding, the Associated Press reports.
“This city will not be bullied by this administration,” Murray said. “We believe we have the rule of law and the courts on our side.”
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SOURCE: USA Today, Aamer Madhani