Trump Threatens to Relocate Illegal Immigrants to Sanctuary Cities
Jose Nino
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President Donald Trump is strongly considering placing illegal immigrants in sanctuary cities.
Trump is mulling this course of action in response to Democrats’ unwillingness to change immigration laws.
https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1116742280919044096?s=12
According to a Washington report, the White House approached Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on two separate occasions to discuss the possibility of transferring detained illegal immigrants and letting them loose into sanctuary cities.
This idea was pitched by White House adviser Stephen Miller. He first proposed it to immigration officials in November when a Central American caravan was approaching the southern border. Miller did so again in February when Democrats and the White House were at each other’s throats about funding for Trump’s wall.
According to DHS officials, the administration wanted migrants to be transferred to Democratic strongholds, above all, sanctuary cities. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s district in San Francisco was apparently one of those targets.
Not only would this proposal keep detainment centers from being overcrowded, but it would serve as a political message to sanctuary cities.
On both occasions, ICE rejected this idea. In the first case, an ICE official claimed this proposal had too many budgetary, liability, and “PR risks as well.” During the second time, ICE’s legal department declared that this proposal was “inappropriate.”
In a statement to the Washington Post, the White House said, “This was just a suggestion that was floated and rejected, which ended any further discussion.”
Despite her support of sanctuary cities, Pelosi criticized the Trump administration over this proposal.
Ashley Etienne, a spokeswoman for Pelosi, stated “The extent of this administration’s cynicism and cruelty cannot be overstated.”
She added, “Using human beings — including little children — as pawns in their warped game to perpetuate fear and demonize immigrants is despicable.”
A spokesman from the White House said that this proposal wasn’t about partisan politics but rather about relieving border communities of the burdens of mass migration. The spokesman said, “Why wouldn’t we send them to districts where Democrats say ‘we want ’em?’”
With sanctuary cities overflowing with illegal immigrants, Democratic elites have every reason to reject this proposal. Such a massive influx of migrants could create European-style immigrant ghettoes and lead to potential social unrest.
However, Democrats also recognize that maintaining the mass migration status quo is to their advantage given immigrant’s proclivities to vote for leftist policies.
With a divided Congress, Trump doesn’t have many options at his disposal in order to bring about immigration reform.
However, it’s clear that his base desperately wants it. According to a BLP report, 65% of Republicans polled believed that immigration is the #1 issue in the upcoming presidential election.
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