President Trump announced Wednesday that he will stop federal funding to sanctuary cities and states on Feb. 1 as he escalates his efforts to crack down on illegal immigrants and the jurisdictions that are resisting his administration’s efforts to deport them.
The move fulfills a promise Mr. Trump made on the campaign trail in 2024 to strip funding from jurisdictions that protect illegal immigrants. So-called sanctuary cities block local law enforcement from working with federal agents to apprehend illegal immigrants, and some even offer them benefits such as access to the social safety net.
“Effective February 1st, no more payments will be made by the federal government to states for their corrupt criminal protection centers known as sanctuary cities,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. “All they do is breed crime and violence. If states want them, they will have to pay for them.”
Mr. Trump did not specify which jurisdictions would be targeted. The Justice Department has identified 11 states and the District of Columbia as sanctuary jurisdictions: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
An executive order by Mr. Trump to withhold funds from sanctuary cities was blocked by a federal judge last August. The judge ruled that the Trump administration violated federal law when it tried to halt funding to more than 30 jurisdictions, including Los Angeles, Baltimore, Boston and Chicago that have refused to cooperate with Mr. Trump’s hard-line immigration stance.
The temporary injunction only covers the jurisdictions that joined the case, which is still pending. Other lawsuits over funding and sanctuary city policies have been filed.
Also in August, Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to 32 jurisdictions that she declared noncompliant with federal immigration laws.
Mr. Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration has touched off a flash point across the country. Protesters have attempted to block Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and used cars to stop agents’ vehicles from moving.
The clash between federal agents and protesters culminated last week when an ICE agent fatally shot a Minneapolis woman in her car. A few days later, Border Patrol agents in Portland shot a man whom authorities later identified as a member of a Venezuelan gang.
Trump administration officials say the agents acted in self-defense.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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