Trump’s Sanctuary City Funding Hold is Another Imminent Threat to Public Safety

Donald Trump is distinguishing himself as the most careless and reckless American president in history. His first term in office is rife with examples of how has acted in ways that are manifestly harmful to the American people. They range from assaults on access to healthcare, wherein he is still fighting to kill the Affordable Care Act, terminating insurance for millions of people, to tax reforms that increase the burden for the middle-class while cutting it for corporations and the wealthy.

Donald Trump

On Thursday morning Trump announced via his Official Presidential Press platform (aka Twitter) that he is moving forward with plans to withhold federal funds from localities that are designated as “Sanctuary Cities.” These are cities and states that decline to cooperate with federal authorities to enforce immigration laws. Trump tweeted…

Trump is referring to a 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan that recently ruled that the Department of Justice could withhold funding from cities and states that refuse to assist Trump’s racist policy targeting undocumented immigrants. This decision by a three-judge panel of the Appeals Court came after multiple courts previously had ruled against the Trump administration on the issue. It will surely be appealed to the full court, and potentially the Supreme Court.

In the meantime, what Trump is proposing will only make things much worse for law enforcement in the places from which he denies funds. The money that the Justice Department distributes is used by local law enforcement agencies to finance critical measures to insure public safety. Without this funding the police and other services will be severely limited in their ability to perform necessary functions. The end result is that citizens will likely be vulnerable to greater risk of criminal activity.

Trump’s disingenuous argument against sanctuary cities is centered on the baseless assertion that undocumented immigrants are responsible for rampant commission of crimes. The truth is that they commit far fewer crimes than native born citizens. But even if Trump were right, how does withholding scarce funds from law enforcement help anybody? it can only make matters worse.

There are several good reasons why local officials object to being forced to cooperate with federal immigration agencies. For one thing, that isn’t their job. They have enough to worry about just fulfilling their obligations to their own community without being hamstrung by the feds. What’s more, the intimidating tactics of ICE inhibit the cooperation of undocumented locals in investigating crimes. They are reluctant to be witnesses against criminals if they believe that they, or their family, could be subject to incarceration and deportation. Finally, federal immigration agencies have terrible records of harassment and bungled operations that have resulted in the persecution of innocent people.

So Trump is reverting to his natural bullying tendencies to threaten localities with a funding drought that actually makes every citizen less safe. While he claims to be against protecting criminals, that’s precisely what his proposal ends up doing. And by trying to force his policies on these cities and states, Trump is violating their rights to govern themselves in their own best interests. If he gets away with this there will surely be more people suffering harm from crime. And Trump will have their blood on his hands.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
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