President Donald Trump on Thursday called for an end to sanctuary cities, calling them "death traps" that "protect criminals."
"No more Sanctuary Cities!" Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday. "They protect the Criminals, not the Victims. They are disgracing our Country, and are being mocked all over the World. Working on papers to withhold all Federal Funding for any City or State that allows these Death Traps to exist!!!"
"Sanctuary" typically refers to states, counties or cities that place some limits on how much they are willing to cooperate with efforts by federal agencies to deport undocumented immigrants.
ICE enforces U.S. immigration laws nationwide but seeks state and local help, particularly for large-scale deportations, requesting that police and sheriffs offers alerts on people it wants to deport and hold them until federal officers take custody.
But some cities and states say cooperating with ICE means victims of crime and witnesses who aren't in the U.S. legally won't come forward. And, to varying degrees, officials argue that they want their localities to be welcoming places for immigrants.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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