Trump slams sanctuary cities after court rules against penalizing them

President Trump on Thursday argued sanctuary cities are making America less safe in the wake of a court ruling that blocked his administration from limiting grant funding for such jurisdictions.

“Sanctuary Cities released at least 142 gang members across the United States, making it easy for them to commit all forms of violent crimes where none should have existed.”

“We are doing a great job of law enforcement, but things such as this make safety in America difficult!” he added. 

Sanctuary Cities released at least 142 Gang Members across the United States, making it easy for them to commit all forms of violent crimes where none would have existed. We are doing a great job of law enforcement, but things such as this make safety in America difficult!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 19, 2018

{mosads}The president appeared to be referencing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) statistics reportedly released earlier this week to a Senate committee that showed 142 gang members it sought to deport were released by local law enforcement between Oct. 1, 2016, and June 19, 2017. 

The statistics noted all but one of the releases took place in a “sanctuary jurisdiction,” where local police do not enforce federal immigration law, according to the Center for Immigration Studies, a non-profit that advocates for stricter immigration policies.

Trump has frequently railed against sanctuary cities, taking particular aim in recent days at California for its laws.

He said earlier Thursday there’s “a little bit of a revolution going on in California” because some residents don’t agree with the state’s immigration policies. He has previously thanked Orange County, Calif., for resisting state laws by joining a Justice Department lawsuit against the state.

The Justice Department is suing California over its sanctuary laws, and has attempted to withhold funding intended for local law enforcement from municipalities that implement sanctuary policies.

However, a federal appeals court in Chicago on Thursday struck a blow to the latter initiative when it upheld a nationwide injunction that blocks the administration from putting certain conditions on federal grant funding to force sanctuary cities to comply with immigration enforcement efforts.