According to reports, Attorney General Pam Bondi asked the Justice Department to halt all federal funds for sanctuary communities within hours after taking office.
Among other directions announced Wednesday, Bondi directed the Department of Justice to identify and evaluate financing arrangements with nonprofit organizations that assist undocumented immigrants, according to Fox News Digital.
She also directed the government to investigate cases of sanctuary jurisdictions blocking law enforcement and “directing that they be prosecuted, when necessary,” according to the site.
According to the Center for Immigration Studies, many Justice Department divisions provided $1.56 billion in subsidies to sanctuary towns in 2023.
Last month, the charity U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants warned that reduced funding could jeopardize sanctuary cities.
Cutting this revenue source “could disrupt critical federally funded programs, such as public safety initiatives, disaster relief, housing support, and healthcare services.” These cuts are an attack not only on immigrants, but on the well-being of all residents in these communities,” the nonprofit stated in a statement.
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security to “to the maximum extent possible under law, evaluate and undertake any lawful actions to ensure that so-called’sanctuary’ jurisdictions, which seek to interfere with the lawful exercise of Federal law enforcement operations, do not receive access to Federal funds.”
Trump has also pledged mass deportation. He has already deployed around 1,500 troops to the southern border as part of his immigration operation.
Across the country, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested over 8,000 migrants. On February 1, the agency made 864 arrests.
Long before Bondi’s decision, mayors across the country opposed Trump’s planned mass deportations.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson told the Washington Post in November that the sanctuary city was prepared to confront any threats to its funding. “There will not be any cooperation” with deportations, he continued.
Last month, Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) initiated a study into sanctuary cities’ policies and how they affect public safety and immigration enforcement. The mayors of Boston, Chicago, Denver, and New York City want to appear at the committee’s March 5 meeting, Comer announced Wednesday.
Bondi also announced the formation of a “Weaponization Working Group,” which will review all law enforcement agencies’ activities over the last four years to identify cases of “politicized justice,” including Trump-related lawsuits led by former Special Counsel Jack Smith and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, according to Fox News Digital.
