President Trump Cracks Down on Sanctuary Cities & States Today

Now that President Trump has signed an executive order cracking down on sanctuary cities, what will it mean for Rhode Island?

According to the White House, the federal government will withhold federal funds to those local governments that offer sanctuary to undocumented residents.

The order will "strip federal grant money from states and cities that harbor illegal immigrants," White House Spokesman Sean Spicer said.

On the other hand, according to the ACLU's Steven Brown, the state could face serious judicial penalties, if it honors a detainer without merit and violates people's constitutional rights.

He cited a ruling in federal court yesterday. The judge found the state violated Ada Morales' rights by holding her at the ACI in 2009 on the mistaken opinion she was not a citizen. In reality, she is a naturalized citizen.

Sanctuary cities and counties are called that because they offer sanctuary to the undocumented, 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.

But there are degrees of sanctuary.

Rhode Island made the list of sanctuaries in 2013, due to a policy not to turn anyone over to federal immigration authorities, unless a warrant was produced.

This means, Rhode Island cooperates with the federal government in deporting people wanted for crimes but not for civil offenses.

"We'll prioritize the prosecution and deportation of illegal immigrants who have otherwise violated our laws," Spicer said.

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That could mean Rhode Island will be spared the first round and won't be stripped at least for now.

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.

Trump is also expected to impose visa restrictions for people from the Middle East, authorize the building of a wall on the Mexican border, 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.

Colin Miner (Patch Staff) contributed to this story.

Photo via The White House