January 26, 2017
An executive order signed Wednesday by President Donald Trump includes a provision calling for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to publish a weekly list detailing crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.
The provision is part of an order seeking to withhold federal grant funding from sanctuary cities, like Philadelphia, which prevent local law enforcement officials from coordinating with federal immigration authorities unless they have an arrest warrant.
The provision calls for the Homeland Security secretary to publish a "comprehensive list" of criminal actions committed by undocumented immigrants. The list also will call out jurisdictions that failed to honor detainers issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
It reads:
"To better inform the public regarding the public safety threats associated with sanctuary jurisdictions, the Secretary shall utilize the Declined Detainer Outcome Report or its equivalent and, on a weekly basis, make public a comprehensive list of criminal actions committed by aliens and any jurisdiction that ignored or otherwise failed to honor any detainers with respect to such aliens."
The order was one of two immigration actions Trump signed on Wednesday. The other paved the way for building a wall along the United States' southern border, one of his main campaign pledges.
Despite the executive actions, Mayor Jim Kenney said Wednesday that he does not intend to reverse the city's status as a sanctuary city. His spokesperson, Lauren Hitt, said in a statement that the order was "simply a directive and did not even make clear if there were any significant funding streams that the Trump administration could cut off to Philadelphia."
The mayor's office noted that a recent report by the Center for American Progress compared crime rates and economies of counties and municipalities with sanctuary policies versus those who do not. Counties that enact sanctuary polices were found to have stronger economies and lower crime rates than those that do not, according to the report.
The order could cost sanctuary cities millions of dollars. It directs the Attorney General and Homeland Security secretary to ensure sanctuary cities are not eligible to receive federal grants, except those deemed necessary for law enforcement purposes.
