President Donald Trump underscored Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s decision to ban sanctuary cities in the state, commenting that other governors and leaders do not have the courage to do the same.
Trump wrote the tweet on June 16 after the bill, which requires local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, was passed on June 14.
Sanctuary cities shield illegal immigrants from deportation by prohibiting state law enforcement from cooperating with federal agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). If an illegal alien is arrested or convicted of a crime and ICE requests custody of them, sanctuary policies prevent law enforcement from honoring the request.
DeSantis was quoted in a press release saying that the law is about “public safety, not about politics.”
“Sanctuary cities basically create law-free zones where people can come to our state illegally and our country illegally, commit criminal offenses and then just walk right out the door and continue to do it,” said the governor, according to The Associated Press.
A Preventable Crime
While New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio has championed the city’s sanctuary status, the policy has led to serious problems.In February an MS-13 gang member allegedly shot a man multiple times, killing him in broad daylight on a subway platform. It was later revealed that Ramiro Gutierrez was in the country illegally.
Over 60 of those arrested had been previously released by local authorities after ICE had requested custody of them. Among those captured, many were convicted of felonious offenses, such as child sex crimes, assault, and weapons charges.
“The fact is that a so-called ’sanctuary city' does not only provide refuge to those who are here against immigration law, but also provides protections for criminal aliens who prey on the people in their own communities by committing crimes at all level,” said Thomas R. Decker, an official for ICE, in the release.
