Democratic U.S. mayors from “sanctuary cities” said they would welcome undocumented migrants if needed, dismissing President Donald Trump’s bid to threat them into supporting stricter immigration policies.
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Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Portland, Oakland, among other mayors from large U.S. cities stated Friday that their communities would accept with open arms those migrants, “just as we welcomed Syrian refugees, just as we welcomed Puerto Ricans displaced by Hurricane Maria and just as we welcome Rohingya refugees fleeing genocide in Myanmar," said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
This comes as Trump blurted out a new proposal for his immigration policy which would see a move of undocumented immigrants who are already in detention to the selected cities. Or a second variation which suggests directly transporting migrants who are apprehended at the Mexican border to the sanctuary cities.
Cities in the United States are classified as a sanctuary when the local authorities promote and adhere to protocols which protect immigrants from being handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation. Sanctuary city local authorities, such as San Francisco, New York City and Chicago, are typically led by Democrats.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Portland’s Ted Wheeler referred to Trump’s tactics as using human lives as “pawns”. Blasio added that “New York City will always be the ultimate city of immigrants – the President’s empty threats won’t change that,” while Wheeler “strongly” denounced “the cruel efforts of this administration to retaliate against sanctuary cities.”
Trump’s latest move on immigration comes days after U.S. officials said they arrested or denied entry to over 103,000 people along the border with Mexico in March, more than twice as many as the same period last year.
However, the latest idea is unlikely to work, as senior White House officials and immigration lawyers told Axios that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would not have enough funds for this and there would be major liabilities if anyone got hurt while being transferred. The agency came forward also to denounce the plan, calling it "inappropriate" and citing the "PR risks" that would come with its approval.