Trump signs executive order to crack down on sanctuary cities
CBC
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday targeting "sanctuary cities" that have declined to co-operate with federal efforts to arrest undocumented immigrants.
The order calls for the attorney general and secretary of homeland security to publish a list of cities and states failing to comply with federal immigration laws, warning those that don't comply could lose federal funding.
Trump has criticized cities and states that limit co-operation with federal immigration enforcement, labelling them "sanctuaries" and blaming them for releasing criminal offenders instead of co-ordinating their transfer to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Last week, a federal judge blocked Trump's administration from withholding federal funding from more than a dozen so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that have declined to co-operate with Trump's hardline immigration crackdown.
U.S. officials arrested a Wisconsin judge on Friday and charged her with helping a man in her court briefly evade immigration authorities. The arrest triggered backlash from Democrats and immigrant rights advocates who raised concerns that immigrant victims may not feel safe in courthouses.
Trump border czar Tom Homan defended the arrest, saying that the administration would enforce laws prohibiting harbouring of a person in the United States illegally.
"You will be prosecuted, judge or not," he said.
Trump also signed a separate executive order Monday requiring commercial truck drivers to be "proficient in English."
This came as his administration touted the early results of his immigration crackdown, marking 100 days of Trump's second term by displaying photos of alleged criminal offenders on the White House lawn.
The photos featured 100 people charged or convicted of serious crimes, including murder, rape and fentanyl distribution. Numerous studies show immigrants do not commit crimes at a higher rate than those born in the U.S.
Trump launched an aggressive enforcement campaign after taking office, surging troops to the southern border and pledging to deport millions of immigrants in the United States illegally.
The Republican president, who made immigration a major campaign issue in 2024, said the actions were needed after years of high illegal immigration under his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden.
White House officials at a media briefing touted a steep decline in illegal crossings at the border during Trump's first three months in office — even as concerns have emerged over the due process rights of immigrants and U.S. citizens swept up in the dragnet.
The U.S. Border Patrol arrested 7,200 migrants illegally crossing the border in March, the lowest monthly total since 2000 and down from a peak of 250,000 in December 2023.
