Yet more eye-roll inducing Trump news this Monday. Before we start, let’s just get it out of our system first.
We good? Okay, let’s do this.
The city of Chicago is planning to sue the Trump administration, according to Reuters. The reason? The administration has threatened to cut funding for sanctuary cities that fail to cooperate with the national government’s efforts to enforce stricter immigration laws. More specifically, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently announced that cities will not receive public safety grants unless they give immigration authorities unlimited access to jails, and give a two-day notice before releasing anyone wanted for immigration violations. Chicago would be one of the cities affected by the funding cuts.
“Chicago will not let our residents have their fundamental rights isolated and violated,” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel said during a news conference.
Trump has been targeting Chicago since the beginning of his campaign because of the city’s high murder and crime rate, and it seems that cutting funding is his next tactic. But this move isn’t a straightforward way to lower rates of illegal immigration—it could have other serious consequences.
For example, police and city officials say that the funding cuts will actually make Chicago less safe, because immigrants will be less likely to report crimes out of fear that they’ll be deported if they go to the authorities.
Chicago isn’t alone in their issues with the administration’s plans. The state of California is thinking about filing a similar suit, according to Reuters.