President Trump announces funding cuts to sanctuary cities
President Donald Trump announced plans to suspend payments to sanctuary cities and states starting February 1.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump says he plans to withhold federal funds from so-called sanctuary cities and states with sanctuary cities to punish jurisdictions that don’t cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
President Trump announced the measure in a speech at the Detroit Economic Club in Michigan on January 13, saying that starting February 1, there will be no “payments to sanctuary cities or states with cities” because his administration is “doing everything possible to protect criminals at the expense of the American people.”
The move comes amid protests sparked by the shooting death of a woman by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis last week and as President Trump defends his administration’s heavy-handed immigration enforcement.
In addition to the District of Columbia, the Department of Justice has designated 11 states as “sanctuary jurisdictions”: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. Ten of the 11 states have Democratic governors.
Eighteen cities are considered “sanctuary jurisdictions” by the Department of Justice, including New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, New Orleans, Denver, and Portland, Oregon. Four county governments have that status.
President Trump announced the new policy while criticizing a Somali-American man in Minnesota who was indicted in a massive $250 million fraud case involving a state-controlled program. President Trump also said he was giving states like California “90 days’ notice” to “request the federal government” for the cost of meeting immigration needs.
The president said his administration had suspended about 8,000 federal loans that it had administered through the Small Business Administration to “alleged fraudsters in Minnesota.”
President Trump could face legal hurdles in his efforts to punish sanctuary cities after a federal judge in San Francisco blocked the administration from withholding federal funds from 16 sanctuary jurisdictions in April 2025.
There is no legal definition of a sanctuary jurisdiction, but the Justice Department said it considers things like failure to cooperate with ICE officers, providing government benefits to illegal immigrants and refusing to share immigration information about jail detainees.
In August, Attorney General Pam Bondi threatened a lawsuit naming sanctuary jurisdictions across the country, writing in a statement that “sanctuary policies obstruct law enforcement and intentionally endanger the American people.” The Trump administration immediately filed lawsuits targeting immigration policies in jurisdictions such as Minnesota and New York City.
Contributor: Trevor Hughes for USA TODAY
X Contact Joey Garrison at @joeygarrison.
