Washington – The Justice Department is looking for more ways to deny coveted federal grant money to so-called sanctuary cities.
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Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a department memorandum Monday that the department may “tailor grants to promote a lawful system of immigration.” That suggests officials could seek ways to withhold money from communities that refuse to honor detainer requests from federal immigration authorities.
A judge in April blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to withhold funding from some localities, saying the president doesn’t have the authority to attach new conditions to spending by Congress. But the Sessions memo suggests the Justice Department still can attach more stringent conditions to the money it doles out.
Sessions already has threatened to pull money from jurisdictions that hinder communication between local police and immigration authorities.