President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order Monday afternoon, cracking down on Democratic-led sanctuary cities as he approaches his 100th day in office.
The order will direct Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to create a list of the cities and states not complying with Trump’s effort to deport immigrants who are in the United States illegally.
“It’s quite simple, obey the law, respect the law, and don’t obstruct federal immigration officials and law enforcement officials when they are simply trying to remove public safety threats from our nation’s communities,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday morning.
The Wall Street Journal reported the executive order.
Last week, the Trump administration faced a setback as it fights a growing legal battle over immigration policy. A federal judge in California ruled that the president could not deny federal funds to more than a dozen jurisdictions, including San Francisco, over immigration policies, and that part of Trump’s executive order appeared to overstep his constitutional authority.
U.S. District Judge William Orrick, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, wrote that the government was barred “from directly or indirectly taking any action to withhold, freeze, or condition federal funds.”
The White House is expected to appeal the decision, while Monday’s executive order attempts to address the lack of specificity Orrick cited on what the administration considers a sanctuary city.
At the same time, the White House is mounting its legal battles over immigration enforcement.
Last week, the administration sued the City of Rochester, New York, over its sanctuary policy, claiming it impedes federal immigration officers. An officer with the local police department broke policy by responding to calls for help from the Department of Homeland Security.
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan was also arrested last week for allegedly helping an illegal immigrant evade arrest inside her courtroom.
Tom Homan, the nation’s “border czar,” defended the White House’s actions during the Monday morning press briefing and signaled more litigation to come over its border crackdown.
“You can support sanctuary cities if that’s what you desire to do. Sanctuary cities can stand aside and watch ICE keep your community safe,” Homan said. “Because any public official, whether your mayor, city councilman, governor, their No. 1 responsibility is protection of the communities. And ICE has been clear, we’re targeting public safety threats and national security threats.”
“I can’t believe there’s any elected official, and especially a judge, that doesn’t believe we should be doing that and they should be helping us,” Homan added.
Homan is traveling to Rochester on Tuesday to show support for the Rochester Police Department.
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“They just announced a lawsuit, and that’s one of many,” Homan said. “Sanctuary cities are going to be sued [by] this administration for flouting immigration law. I mean the law is clear and they’re violating it, and this administration will take action.”
As the White House marks the 100th day of Trump’s second term, signs featuring the mugshots of some of the 100 arrested illegal immigrants were displayed on the north side of the White House grounds.
