Shortly after Donald Trump settled into the Oval Office, one of the President’s first order of business was to cut federal funding for cities not fully compliant with the federal immigration enforcement officials. As a result, Florida’s Miami-Dade county is the first area to abandon their “sanctuary” status.
When a city or county takes up “sanctuary” status, they do not assist federal immigration enforcement officials by withholding individuals in custody beyond their release date, before being taken by immigration authorities.
This is one of the first scenarios where we see Trump’s presidential stronghold in effect. This decision came from fear of losing millions of dollars from the federal government, and it’s surely not the last decision we’ll see from counties around the country.
“I want to make sure we don’t put in jeopardy the millions of funds we get from the federal government for a $52,000 issue. It doesn’t mean that we’re going to be arresting more people. It doesn’t mean that we’re going to be enforcing any immigration laws,” Mayor Carlos Gimenez told The Miami Herald.
The $52,000 issue refers to the cost of a county declining to continue to detain approximately 100 undocumented inmates, as well as the millions Gimenez does not want to jeopardize under the federal funding of $355 million.
According to The Miami Herald, the Republican mayor informed the interim director of Miami-Dade’s corrections and rehabilitation department saying, “In light of the provisions of the Executive Order, I direct you and your staff to honor all immigration detainer requests received from the Department of Homeland Security.”
President Trump jumped on this opportunity to share the news on his favorite social media platform, Twitter.
Miami-Dade Mayor drops sanctuary policy. Right decision. Strong! https://t.co/MtPvaDC4jM
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 26, 2017
Several mayors from locations like Chicago, Boston, New York, and other “sanctuary cities” made statements where they reassure the people of their commitment to undocumented residents.
Earlier this week (Jan. 26), Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York said “turning our police into a deportation force will make us all less safe. We are not going to tear families apart. We are not going to leave children without their parents.”
According to a new analysis from the Center for American Progress and the National Immigration Law Center, sanctuary counties have lower crime rates, a stronger economy, and less reliance on public assistance along with lower unemployment.