NEW YORK CITY (WABC) — On Tuesday, President Donald Trump said he will withhold federal funding for sanctuary cities or states starting February 1.
“Starting February 1st, we’re not making any payments to sanctuary cities or states having sanctuary cities because they do everything possible to protect criminals at the expense of American citizens. And it breeds fraud, crime and all of the other problems that come. We are not making any payments to anybody that supports sanctuary cities,” Trump said.
The president made the comments during remarks at the Detroit Economic Club.
Trump made the comments while talking about investigations into fraud in Minnesota, which he claimed was done by many Somali Americans and said was the reason for “fake” riots against ICE operations in Minnesota.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani responded in a social media post saying, “Our values and our laws are not bargaining chips. We will always defend New Yorkers, even in the face of federal threats to withhold funding.”
Later Tuesday night, during a news conference to appoint a TLC commissioner, Mamdani was asked about whether he had spoken to President Trump about his announcement on sanctuary cities.
“So I reached out to President Trump to express my sharp opposition to this decision and to make my values clear, and I will always continue to do so, whether to the president or to all New Yorkers to be honest about where we actually stand. I have yet to hear back from the president, and this is the position that I hold as the mayor of New York City,” Mamdani said.
Mamdani was also asked about what his plans were if the funds were withheld.
“There are many threats that are made to New York City on a regular basis, and I am confident in our city’ ability to fight those threats back. And we’ve also seen whether it be in the courts or whether it be beyond that our ability to win those fights,” Mamdani said.
A spokesperson for Governor Kathy Hochul said, “New York will work with the federal government to go after dangerous criminals but we will not support their aggressive attacks on hardworking families. If the Trump Administration tries to go after the funding New Yorkers rely on, we’ll see them in court.”
Gov. Hochul stood up to the President in her State of the State Address saying she’d support allowing New Yorkers to sue federal agents if their constitutional rights are violated. But she stopped short of including the ‘New York For All Act’ which would prevent local officials from working with ICE.
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