Advisors to President-elect Donald Trump are devising ways to cut federal funding for cities that don’t cooperate with his plans to root out and deport immigrants without permanent legal status. Tuesday report in The Washington Post.
The Democratic leaders of some states and cities, such as Chicago and Denver, have pledged not to lift a finger to assist Trump’s efforts, leaving local law enforcement agencies unable to use their resources to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Post cited three unnamed people familiar with the Trump team’s discussions.
Mass deportation was one of Trump’s biggest campaign promises, though it is unclear how quickly he will be able to deliver on it as president given the legal and logistical hurdles involved.
Cities receive federal funding, such as grants for a variety of services, such as public transportation, affordable housing programs and crime reduction efforts. In Chicago those are the civil servants rushing to finalize a federal grant Before Trump takes office, he must allocate $1.9 billion for an expansion of the city’s rail service, which will break ground next year.
If Trump tries to cut off funding to cities whose policies he doesn’t like, it could potentially spark a major court battle changing the balance of power between the executive and the legislature for good.
Trump had mixed success when he tried to sanction sanctuary cities during his first term. A 2017 executive order The ban on such cities receiving federal subsidies was struck down in federal court, although Trump did so ultimately prevailed with a narrow policy giving preferential treatment in awarding crime prevention grants to municipalities that cooperated with federal immigration authorities.
Trump wants the executive branch to have even more power so he can satisfy his policy whims without having to convince Congress to help him. He has floated the idea of challenging the 1974 Impoundment Control Act, which bars presidents from blocking federal funds appropriated by Congress. Advocates say the law was necessary to prevent the executive from going too far as President Richard Nixon did.
“Not a very good thing,” Trump said said last year. “We will undo it.”
His chosen “border czar,” Tom Homan, has also spoken out in favor of sanctioning sanctuary cities, said last week of the proposed deportation effort: “This is going to happen with or without you.”
Read more about the Trump team’s plans at The Washington Post.