The White House encouraged U.S. immigration authorities to discharge immigrant detainees into “sanctuary cities” that protect undocumented immigrants from deportation, in part to get back at Democrats, according to a new report.
Officials in the White House initially asked officials at multiple government agencies in November if those arrested at the border as part of a migrant caravan could be transported to “small- and mid-sized sanctuary cities,” which don’t require local law enforcement to turn over illegal immigrants in custody to federal officials for deportation.
In an email exchange between the White House and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the proposal was designed to free up some jail space, and to spite Democrats, the Washington Post reports. In response, a top ICE official pointed out some of the budgetary and liability concerns, along with “PR risks as well.”
The White House singled out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s district in California, among other Democratic districts.
The White House resurrected the effort in February as President Trump sparred with Democrats over funding for a border wall, but ICE’s legal department shut down the proposal, claiming it was improper.
Senior Trump adviser on immigration policy Stephen Miller reportedly talked to ICE officials about the plan. Congress was notified by two Department of Homeland Security whistleblowers.
“It was basically an idea that Miller wanted that nobody else wanted to carry out,” a congressional investigator who talked to one of the whistleblowers said, according to the Post. “What happened here is that Stephen Miller called people at ICE, said if they’re going to cut funding you’ve got to make sure you’re releasing people in Pelosi’s district and other congressional districts.”
Pelosi’s office slammed the White House’s effort and labeled it “despicable.”
“The extent of this administration’s cynicism and cruelty cannot be overstated,” Pelosi spokeswoman Ashley Etienne said. “Using human beings — including little children — as pawns in their warped game to perpetuate fear and demonize immigrants is despicable.”
A White House official acknowledged that the plan was proposed.
“This was just a suggestion that was floated and rejected, which ended any further discussion,” the White House said in a statement.
