While the Obama administration turned a blind eye to sanctuary cities, President Donald Trump won't, Greg Jarrett, a Fox News host and former attorney, said recently on The Morning Answer radio show.
“Trump is doing the opposite," Jarrett said. "He’s decided to take action under the law."
The law requires states and local governments to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, according to Jarrett, who wrote an op-ed detailing why sanctuary cities won't find the law on their side in this fight.
“The Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution gives primacy to federal law over contrary state or local laws,” Jarrett wrote.
As the Trump administration adds pressure to cities that don't cooperate with immigration authorities, Chicago public officials are reacting in different ways.
Two days after Attorney General Jeff Sessions made an announcement calling on sanctuary cities to follow immigration laws or face financial repercussions, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced an ordinance that would create a “municipal card” for illegal immigrants living in the city, according to the Chicago Tribune.
“Emanuel might be standing on principal and finds it politically advantageous to maintain sanctuary city-status despite threats to remove funding from the federal government,” Radio show host Dan Proft said. Proft is a principal of Local Government Information Services, which owns this publication.
Meanwhile, members of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police visited the White House last week, hoping to convince Trump of just how important that funding is for law enforcement in the city. Members of the FOP who appeared on The Morning Answer after the meeting, said they don't know if Trump will implement any of the solutions they shared or whether he will maintain their funding.
Jarrett said he thinks taking away federal funds would have the desired effect. Either the city will cave or voters will take action.
"Politicians love to stand on their principles, and the only way you can get their attention and get them to comply with the written law passed by congress is to hit them in the wallet,” Jarrett said. “It’ll be interesting to see how the public reacts once the federal funds are withdrawn and programs are halted that benefit the voting citizenry."
Proft said there has been a number of high profile criminal cases across the country involving illegal immigrants and they'll persist if Trump doesn’t take action.
“It seems to me that the Trump administration is on the clock on this,” he said.
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