The Justice Department is now ready to put new rules into effect that would deny $1 billion in grants to “sanctuary” cities, counties, and states that offer illegal aliens amnesty-like treatment. In order for these governmental entities to receive federal grant money, they will have to agree to provide assistance to immigration officials.
The new provision is part of the Trump administration’s push to continue expanding its immigration enforcement capacities across the board. The new rules put a fly in the ointment for Democrats concerning grants that have been doled out by the federal government to local municipalities for years now. Some officials could potentially be required to forgo the long-standing grants due to the prohibitions placed by some Democrats on local officials working with federal immigration officers.
One example is a program that consists of $700 million in grants from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, which has awarded its “COPS” grants since the early 1990s. This set of grants is one of the biggest federal funding sources for local law enforcement departments and has been for decades. COPS has handed out over $20 billion to local departments since the program was created.
According to a report from Breitbart News, localities have often used the funds to hire new recruits, for school safety programs, and for mental health services for officers, among other uses. The new Immigration and Customs Enforcement provision will also have an impact on the Model Cities Initiative, a $300 million program that is awarded on a yearly basis to three or four midsized U.S. cities.
Attorney General Todd Blanche stated in a recent video that the grants will be handed out to “jurisdictions that offer true partnership.” The DOJ then added, “Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, we are surging $300 million in grant funds to support 2-4 cities with a population of 100k or more who are serious in reducing violent crime, restoring law and order, and modernizing their public safety infrastructure.”
“Under President Trump’s leadership, this Department of Justice, and this Initiative is focused on results, and are looking for true whole-of-government partnerships,” the DOJ continued. The new rules explain that any local law or rule that “impedes or hinders” the enforcement of federal immigration law will automatically disqualify the locality from receiving the grant.
A report from National Public Radio stated that the Obama administration often connected its political goals to grant criteria, so this move by the Trump administration is nothing new or unusual. A user in the comment section wrote a lengthy post in response to the story, discussing how the radical left would regret ever pushing for the defunding of police departments.
"*" indicates required fields
“The Democrats will rue the day they pushed for defunding police, sanctuary cities. AI will be rolled out to do the job and electronic surveillance, facial recognition will be used to dispatch Police, ICE, and CBP. And since there is a shortage of judges, AI will also be used as Judge and Jury. No need for defense lawyers when AI clearly recognizes crimes were committed and laws broken. This will be heavily deployed in Democrat areas where Democrats hate America and its citizens,” the user wrote.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video