I must admit this made me laugh as soon this. At first I didn’t believe it but it’s apparently true.
The White House reportedly wanted to bus illegals detained at the border into sanctuary cities!
They apparently wanted to send a message to these open-border Democrats as well as free up jail space.
ICE didn’t go for it and rejected the proposal.
Here’s more:
WAPO – White House officials have tried to pressure U.S. immigration authorities to release detainees onto the streets of “sanctuary cities” to retaliate against President Trump’s political adversaries, according to Department of Homeland Security officials and email messages reviewed by The Washington Post.
Trump administration officials have proposed transporting detained immigrants to sanctuary cities at least twice in the past six months — once in November, as a migrant caravan approached the U.S. southern border, and again in February, amid a standoff with Democrats over funding for Trump’s border wall.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s district in San Francisco was among those the White House wanted to target, according to DHS officials. The administration also considered releasing detainees in other Democratic strongholds.
White House officials first broached the plan in a Nov. 16 email, asking officials at several agencies whether members of the caravan could be arrested at the border and then bused “to small- and mid-sized sanctuary cities,” places where local authorities have refused to hand over illegal immigrants for deportation.
The White House told U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that the plan was intended to alleviate a shortage of jail space but also served to send a message to Democrats. The attempt at political retribution raised alarm within ICE, with a top official responding that it was rife with budgetary and liability concerns, and noting that “there are PR risks as well.”
After the White House pressed again in February, ICE’s legal department rejected the idea as inappropriate and rebuffed the administration.
You’re probably thinking this is fake news.
But it doesn’t seem to be, as the White House indicates it was a legitimate ‘suggestion’:
A White House official and a spokesman for DHS sent nearly identical statements to The Post on Thursday, indicating that the proposal is no longer under consideration.
“This was just a suggestion that was floated and rejected, which ended any further discussion,” the White House statement said.
I get the motivation for wanting to do this. After all these sanctuary cities are a big part of the problem that draws illegals to the border.
But I also understand ICE’s reluctance to be used as a tool for political statements. It’s a law enforcement agency and it should remain outside of politics.
You can read more about this here.