(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he would be halting federal funds to states with so-called sanctuary cities starting Feb. 1.
In a social media post, Trump wrote, “effective February first, no more payments will be made by the federal government to states for their corrupt criminal protection centers.” He continued, “All they do is breed crime and violence! If states want them, they will have to pay for them!”
The announcement comes as the administration continues its crackdown on illegal immigration despite growing pushback over its enforcement tactics after a federal officer fatally shot a motorist in Minneapolis.
While Trump did not name which states or cities would be affected, in August the Justice Department published a list of states, cities and counties “identified as having policies, laws, or regulations that impede enforcement of federal immigration laws.”
Some of the states included on the list were California, Illinois, Minnesota, New York and Washington. The list of cities included Chicago, Boston, Denver, New York City, Los Angeles and Seattle.