We are eight days out from President Donald Trump's inauguration and people are wondering how he and Congress will "crack down" on sanctuary cities. That means cities that protect undocumented immigrants from deportation could face potential punishments.
According to experts, sanctuary cities like South Tucson and others across the country, would create a major conflict between President-Elect Donald Trump and local governments from those cities who fight federal efforts to round up undocumented immigrants on their grounds. The showdown likely will result in legal challenges testing how far Trump can go in dictating its priorities.
Trump will be armed with a range of powerful options, to punish local governments who challenge his deportation efforts. Those include federal lawsuits and withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in grants that the cities rely on.
The first, and most feasible punishment, is suing sanctuary cities. Trump and his soon-to-be-confirmed attorney general will be able to sue cities on the grounds that they are violating federal law by refusing to cooperate with immigration enforcement.
The Trump administration also has the power to cut off funding . That means drug programs, domestic violence, and violence against women grants could be cut off. Grants for local law enforcement agencies to hire officers; bolster prosecutions, courts and jails could also lose funding.
Immigration experts say the point is to get sanctuary cities to do the right thing.
