Trump signs executive order to crack down on sanctuary cities

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Apr 28, 2025 8:51 PM EDT | Last Updated: 29 minutes ago

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an enforcement bid Monday targeting "sanctuary cities" that have declined to co-operate with national efforts to apprehension undocumented immigrants.

The order calls for the lawyer wide and caput of homeland information to people a database of cities and states failing to comply with national migration laws, informing those that don't comply could suffer national funding.

Trump has criticized cities and states that bounds co-operation with national migration enforcement, labelling them "sanctuaries" and blaming them for releasing transgression offenders alternatively of co-ordinating their transportation to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Last week, a national justice blocked Trump's medication from withholding national backing from much than a twelve alleged sanctuary jurisdictions that person declined to co-operate with Trump's hardline migration crackdown.

U.S. officials arrested a Wisconsin justice connected Friday and charged her with helping a antheral successful her tribunal concisely evade migration authorities. The apprehension triggered backlash from Democrats and migrant rights advocates who raised concerns that migrant victims whitethorn not consciousness harmless successful courthouses.

Trump borderline czar Tom Homan defended the arrest, saying that the medication would enforce laws prohibiting harbouring of a idiosyncratic successful the United States illegally.

"You volition beryllium prosecuted, justice oregon not," helium said.

White House displays photos of alleged criminals connected lawn

Trump besides signed a abstracted enforcement bid Monday requiring commercialized motortruck drivers to beryllium "proficient successful English." 

This came arsenic his medication touted the aboriginal results of his migration crackdown, marking 100 days of Trump's second word by displaying photos of alleged transgression offenders connected the White House lawn.

The photos featured 100 radical charged oregon convicted of superior crimes, including murder, rape and fentanyl distribution. Numerous studies amusement immigrants bash not perpetrate crimes astatine a higher complaint than those calved successful the U.S.

Trump launched an assertive enforcement run aft taking office, surging troops to the confederate borderline and pledging to deport millions of immigrants successful the United States illegally.

The Republican president, who made migration a large run contented successful 2024, said the actions were needed aft years of precocious amerciable migration nether his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden.

White House officials astatine a media briefing touted a steep diminution successful amerciable crossings astatine the borderline during Trump's archetypal 3 months successful bureau — adjacent arsenic concerns person emerged implicit the owed process rights of immigrants and U.S. citizens swept up successful the dragnet.

The U.S. Border Patrol arrested 7,200 migrants illegally crossing the borderline successful March, the lowest monthly full since 2000 and down from a highest of 250,000 successful December 2023.

"We person the astir unafraid borderline successful the past of this federation and the numbers beryllium it," Trump borderline czar Tom Homan said astatine the briefing.

WATCH | Canadian pistillate recounts being detained by ICE:

Enforcement tactics impacting children criticized

Democrats and civilian rights advocates person criticized Trump's heightened enforcement tactics, including the cases of respective children who are U.S. citizens but were precocious deported with their parents. One of the children had a uncommon signifier of cancer, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Homan blamed the parents for putting their children astatine hazard of deportation by remaining successful the United States.

"If you take to person a U.S.-citizen child, knowing you're successful this state illegally, you enactment yourself successful that position," helium said. In his archetypal 100 days successful office, Trump has moved to portion ineligible migration presumption from hundreds of thousands of people, expanding the excavation of those who tin perchance beryllium deported.

While arrests of immigrants successful the United States illegally person spiked, deportations stay beneath past year's levels nether Biden erstwhile determination were much radical illegally crossing the borderline who could beryllium rapidly returned.

Deportations were down successful Trump's archetypal 3 months successful bureau from 195,000 past twelvemonth to 130,000 this year, Reuters reported past week. Homan defended the figures and said it was not just to comparison them to Biden-era tallies.

U.S. ICE detention facilities person been implicit capacity, with immoderate 48,000 successful custody arsenic of aboriginal April, beyond the funded level of 41,500. Homan said that Texas subject basal Fort Bliss could beryllium acceptable "in the precise adjacent future" to clasp migrant detainees. The Trump medication has already been utilizing the U.S. naval basal successful Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.