“The President is literally using human beings as pawns in a political game,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar tweeted, while Rep. Adam Schiff said the plan is another one of the president’s “dangerously hare-brained schemes.”
However, practically, the plan to drop illegal immigrants who are released from custody into sanctuary cities seems to solve problems on both sides of the aisle: Trump can take some of the heat off border states who are dealing with swelling immigration levels, while Democrats can ostensibly protect illegal immigrants from future deportations by housing them in sanctuaries.
Sanctuary cities enact several policies that make it more difficult for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to deport illegal immigrants, including declining to share the immigration status of detained aliens with federal authorities and ignoring ICE detainer requests on criminal illegals.
The Daily Caller reached out to a dozen organizations who advocate on behalf of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers and asked if they would work with the Trump administration to transport immigrants to sanctuaries. Eleven of the organizations did not respond, while one said they would not comment on the issue.
Here’s the list: