Immigration Crackdown On Sanctuary Cities: Detroit May Dodge Funding Cut

(Updated) DETROIT, MI — Detroit city officials said Wednesday they don't expect the city to lose block grant funding under an executive order by President Donald Trump cracking down on more than 300 sanctuary cities that shield undocumented immigrants. The order signed by Trump Wednesday came with the implicit threat that the federal government would withhold federal funds to those local governments that offer sanctuary to illegal immigrants.

The order will "strip federal grant money from states and cities that harbor illegal immigrants," White House Spokesman Sean Spicer said. "We'll prioritize the prosecution and deportation of illegal immigrants who have otherwise violated our laws."

However, Alexis Wiley, chief of staff for the city of Detroit, doesn't think the city's funding will be affected because the city cooperates with investigators, regardless of immigration status.

“We do not believe this applies to the City of Detroit," Wiley said in a statement. "We do cooperate fully with all federal agencies during the course of criminal investigations, regardless of a person’s immigration status.”

The action against sanctuary municipalities is expected to be one part of a series of executive orders on immigration issues that will be unveiled over a couple of days — the most notable of which will be an order formally moving forward with Trump's campaign promise to build a wall on the Mexican border.

The promise to "build a wall" was the most common refrain at Trump's campaign rallies last year. He would ask, "What are we going to do?" and the crowds would respond, "Build a wall." He would then ask, "Who's going to pay for it?" and they would respond, "Mexico."

It's expected that the executive order Trump signs Wednesday will authorize moving forward with the wall even though Mexico has not agreed to pay for it.

Administration officials have said that the work on the wall could begin and that Mexico would be forced to pay for it down the road, though a mechanism for making that happen has not been spelled out.

"We will be in a form reimbursed by Mexico, which I've always said," Trump told ABC News on Wednesday.

Trump is also expected to impose visa restrictions for people from the Middle East and suspend the program that admits refugees into the United States.

The sources who spoke with Patch were not sure what would be announced on Wednesday and what on Thursday.

The signing is expected to happen Wednesday when Trump visits the Department of Homeland Security for a 1:25 p.m. Eastern town hall meeting with employees.

Sanctuary cities and counties are called that because they offer sanctuary to illegal immigrants, refusing to turn them over to federal officials for deportation. Most sanctuary cities and counties have also passed laws preventing employees from even turning over information to immigration officials.

Sources say the most likely target of funding would be the various grants given to local governments through the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security.

The two departments administer billions in grants — many of which go to law enforcement agencies in the more than 300 cities and counties that have declared themselves sanctuary cities.

These range from Homeland Security's Urban Area Security Initiative, which helps cities prepare for acts of terrorism, to the Edward Byrne Grant Program, which was named for a New York City Police Officer killed in the line of duty and provides funding for a range of programs including crime victim assistance, drug patrols and drug treatment.

Written by Colin Miner (Patch Staff)

Photo via The White House