Rep. August Pfluger, a Republican member of the House of Representatives from Texas, just introduced the “No Funding for Sanctuary Cities Act.” If passed, the bill would amend federal law to provide that any jurisdiction that blocks federal immigration enforcement would be ineligible for federal law enforcement grants and other Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice grants.
Rep. Pfluger aims to use the legislation to take on those leftist mayors and governors who are requesting federal aid to help them handle the migrant inflows to their states while also, as he sees it, encouraging and abetting illegal immigration by being sanctuary cities. The bill would require the DHS secretary to report how many jurisdictions are not in compliance so that the funds formerly earmarked for them can be redistributed to those communities in compliance.
Speaking to Fox News Digital about the bill and the sanctuary city political leaders, Rep. Pfluger said, “It is the height of hypocrisy that liberal mayors and governors who intentionally flout federal law by declaring themselves ‘sanctuaries’ from immigration laws are now begging the federal government for money to manage President Biden’s border crisis.”
Continuing, he argued that the bill is quite simple and is meant to ensure that those jurisdictions that do not enforce immigration laws don’t receive money from the federal government. He said, “This bill is simple: any state or locality that prevents the enforcement of immigration laws will not receive a cent from federal taxpayers.”
The move from Rep. Pfluger to at least draw attention to the amount of federal money being sent to sanctuary cities comes amid pleas for financial aid from some of the more prominent sanctuary city mayors. For example, Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago and Mayor Eric Adams of New York City, both sanctuary cities, alone have called for $5 billion in aid to help them deal with providing shelter and care for the many migrants in their cities.
This is not the first GOP effort to deal with the issue, however. In the fall of 2023, for example, Reps. Carlos A. Giménez and Nick LaLota introduced the No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act, which aimed to prevent the use of federal funds for bailing out sanctuary cities, such as New York, with federal dollars. The representatives argued that American taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook for sanctuary city policies.
Rep. Gimenez, speaking about the bill at the time, said, “Sanctuary cities, like New York, make the Biden-Mayorkas border disaster worse by enabling the reckless crisis. I am proud to join my colleagues in introducing the No Bailouts for Sanctuary Cities Act to ensure no taxpayer money is misspent by bailing out sanctuary cities for their own failed policies.”
Joining was Rep. Lalota, who said, “However illogical, New York Democrats are free to keep their failed sanctuary city policies which are helping to cause New York City’s migrant crisis and the $12 billion Mayor Adams says it will cost. But these officials, who can repeal those costly policies any day, cannot expect other states’ taxpayers to fund their indiscretion while their policies remain in place.”
Watch the mother of a young woman killed by Biden’s open border sound off on the issue here:
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