Trump Doubles Down on Plan to Release Migrants in Sanctuary Cities

It’s unclear whether his latest threat is any more serious than the last one.

Immigrant families and activists rally outside the Tennessee State Capitol against a bill to prohibit sanctuary city policies in the state in May.Drew Angerer/Getty

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

Two days after President Donald Trump tweeted that the United States has the “absolute legal right” to send detained migrants to sanctuary cites, he appeared to double down Monday, tweeting that they will be “given” to sanctuary cities, “subject to Homeland Security.” 

The Department of Homeland Security has not announced an official policy regarding the potential release of immigrant detainees in sanctuary cities and states, and officials with the agency have not responded to Mother Jones‘ request for comment. 

DHS officials have said Border Patrol, Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement are all overwhelmed by the influx of Central American migrants at the border and that there isn’t enough space to detain them. But in recent days, there have been reports of detention facilities operating well below capacity. The South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, for example, can hold up to 2,400 people, but as of early April, it held just 499, as KQED reported.

This push to send migrants to sanctuary jurisdictions appears to come as retaliation against cities and states that limit their cooperation with federal immigration authorities. It has been led by immigrant hardliners within the administration, particularly White House adviser Stephen Miller, and it comes amid turmoil in DHS leadership

Historically, many migrants have settled in large cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, as well as border cities like Tucson and El Paso, which are known to have support networks and strong immigrant communities. As many immigrant advocates have argued, the administration would be busing or flying migrants to sanctuary cities that already receive many migrants.

Jenny Durkan, the Democratic mayor of Seattle, said in an op-ed Friday evening that “Seattle is not afraid of immigrants and refugees,” adding that the sanctuary city has always welcomed them. 

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate