State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

U.S. attorney general: sanctuary cities may lose Justice Department grants

Reuters: U.S. cities that do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities may lose millions of dollars in grant money from the Justice Department, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Monday.

So-called "sanctuary cities" help illegal immigrants avoid deportation by limiting cooperation with federal agencies, often by refusing to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement when they plan to release an illegal immigrant from incarceration.

President Donald Trump, who made a crackdown on illegal immigration a key part of his campaign, ordered the government to cut off funding to sanctuary jurisdictions in a Jan. 25 executive order. That order has yet to be put into action by his administration but Sessions' announcement seemed to be the first step in doing so.

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