President Trump’s Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, made it abundantly clear that his agency will be withholding funds from sanctuary cities that “stand by” while violent protestors destroy expensive infrastructure, pointing a finger directly at Los Angeles following the violent anti-ICE riots that broke out on June 6.
For context, on June 16, 2025, in a short X post, Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy issued a stern warning to sanctuary cities, writing that cities that refuse to comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of illegal immigrants will lose funding. Furthermore, Secretary Duffy drew attention to a June 15 Truth Social post from President Trump announcing that ICE operations were expanding to cities like Chicago and New York.
In his post, Secretary Duffy wrote, “The @USDOT will NOT fund rogue state actors who refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.” He continued, “And to cities that stand by while rioters destroy transportation infrastructure — don’t expect a red cent from DOT, either. Follow the law, or forfeit the funding.”
Importantly, Secretary Duffy made similar remarks at a Cabinet meeting on April 30, 2025, warning cities that do not comply with the law, “We are not going to fund your projects.” The secretary added, “You got (sic) to certify in your state or in your city to get road and bridge money or rail money that you are actually following the law.”
Furthermore, Secretary Duffy linked a June 15, 2025, Truth Social post from President Trump in which he announced that he was ordering the expansion of “the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History,” saying, “In order to achieve this, we must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America’s largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside.”
Continuing, President Trump wrote that Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, “and other such Cities,” were, in his view, “the core of the Democrat Power Center, where they use Illegal Aliens to expand their Voter Base, cheat in Elections, and grow the Welfare State, robbing good paying Jobs and Benefits from Hardworking American Citizens.”
Building on his point, the president said that the “Radical Left Democrats” who run sanctuary cities are “sick of mind, hate our Country, and actually want to destroy our Inner Cities — And they are doing a good job of it!” He continued, “There is something wrong with them.”
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In addition, President Trump argued that the Democratic politicians who run sanctuary cities “believe in Open Borders” because they want to bring destruction to inner-city areas, adding, “That is why I want ICE, Border Patrol, and our Great and Patriotic Law Enforcement Officers, to FOCUS on our crime-ridden and deadly Inner Cities, and those places where Sanctuary Cities play such a big role.” moreover, President Trump said that ICE has his “unwavering support.”
Featured image credit: Secretary Sean Duffy via X