Court Rules Against Sanctuary Cities, Says Trump Can Punish Them Financially

During the rough and tumble 2016 election, President Trump’s platform was a fairly simple one:  America first.

To those on the far left, the phrase “America first” is grating.  Uncomfortable.  It implies to them some sort of selfish guilt that they are being told to reject by the “resistance” – that carte blanche opposition to each and every little thing that now-President Trump wishes to accomplish.

When it came to promoting the America first ideology, then-candidate Trump also pushed heavy reforms on immigration that would put an emphasis on the legal naturalization process over illegal border crossings by use of a wall.  This was labeled “racist” by the “resistance”, and President Trump has been locked in a fight over border security ever since.

And so sprung up “sanctuary cities”:  Locales who would choose subornation over cooperation with federal immigration authorities in an effort to protect undocumented migrants.

The Trump administration has now been given the green light to punish these cities financially.

A federal appeals court on Wednesday handed a major win to the Trump administration in its fight against “sanctuary” jurisdictions, ruling that it can deny grant money to states that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York overturned a lower court ruling that stopped the administration’s 2017 move to withhold grant money from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, which dispenses over $250 million a year to state and local criminal justice efforts.

“Today’s decision rightfully recognizes the lawful authority of the Attorney General to ensure that Department of Justice grant recipients are not at the same time thwarting federal law enforcement priorities,” a DOJ spokesman said in a statement. “The grant conditions here require states and cities that receive DOJ grants to share information about criminals in custody. The federal government uses this information to enforce national immigration laws–policies supported by successive Democrat and Republican administrations.”

“All Americans will benefit from increased public safety as this Administration is able to implement its lawful immigration and public safety policies,” the statement said.

This is a big win for the Trump administration, who’ve been unable to accomplish much in the way of a “wall” thanks to the obstinate Democrats’ hold on the House of Representatives.