Courtney: Trump's Sanctuary Sanctions Are Not Yet Clearly Defined for Tolland County

VERNON, CT — President Donald Trump signing an executive order on Wednesday that outlined the blockage of some federal "funds" to so-called undocumented immigrant “sanctuary cities” around the country, including Tolland County, has left just as many questions as answers, U.S. Rep Joe Courtney said on Friday.

"We are trying to define what it means and how it is to be applied," Courtney, a Democrat representing the 2nd District, said on Friday while touring a renovated factory in his hometown of Vernon.

Tolland "county" is listed as a sanctuary "city" by the federal government.

It is labeled as such because police departments don’t ask people about immigration status and don’t detain people for federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, according to ICE standards.

"But if someone is wanted for, say a violent crime, the person's information would be shared in some type of database anyway and ICE could then be involved? Courtney said.

He said parts of Trump's declaration are applicable in theory and some are in practice.

"And this is what we need to get clear definitions on," he said.

Gov. Dannel Malloy said in November that the state would sue if the Trump administration attempted to withhold federal funds from sanctuary cities.

The most likely target of funding would be grants given through the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security, both of which administer billions in grants a year, according to sources that spoke with Patch. Grants from those departments help fund cities to prepare for terrorism attacks, increase drug patrols, boost drug treatment and assist crime victims.

Sanctuary cities are generally defined as a city that limits assisting federal immigration officials through laws or policies. There is no official classification. There are more than 300 cities that would meet the common definition.

Courtney said he wants answers because a lot of federal dollars are at stake in Tolland County to assist projects like the Hockanum Mill's conversion into the New England Motorcycle Museum and a restaurant and federal assistance for homeowners effected by a bad concrete epidemic.

Photo Credit: Chris Dehnel