Trump Order Slashing 'Sanctuary City' Funding Hits Home In Miami-Dade
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – President Donald Trump signed an order aimed at pulling federal funding from so-called "sanctuary cities" that protect illegal immigrants - among them Miami-Dade County.
"Sanctuary cities" are cities that shield undocumented immigrants from deportation due to their policy on immigration checks.
Miami-Dade County is on that list because they do not automatically detain illegal immigrants unless the federal government agrees to reimburse them.
But Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez has a different view on it.
"We do not consider ourselves a sanctuary city. We have complied with federal law," he said. "If we arrest an undocumented immigrant, and we send them to jail, we notify the federal authorities that we have them in custody."
With that said, local law enforcement does not run immigration checks on everyone who is arrested.
Under an executive order Trump signed Wednesday, the Secretary of Homeland Security along with the Attorney General will work to cut federal funding in those cities including Miami-Dade County. But the funds will not be automatically cut off.
"In furtherance of this policy, the Attorney General and the Secretary, in their discretion and to the extent consistent with law, shall ensure that jurisdictions that willfully refuse to comply with 8 U.S.C. 1373 (sanctuary jurisdictions) are not eligible to receive Federal grants, except as deemed necessary for law enforcement purposes by the Attorney General or the Secretary," the order states.
As for what the county is doing about this, they have been working on an agreement with the Department of Justice to be taken off the "sanctuary city" list, according to CBS4's Jim DeFede. County officials had hoped to be off that list this past summer and are trying to expedite those negotiations.
Trump also signed another executive order Wednesday - this one aimed at advancing the U.S. - Mexico border wall which was a key promise in his 2016 campaign.
As for deportations, Trump says he would start deporting criminals first. Under the new order, federal officials will have to publish a weekly list of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants in cities that did not turn them over to federal officials.
