President Trump blasted sanctuary cities on Friday morning after the Center for Immigration Studies reported that 142 gang members, including ones with violent records, were released back onto the streets. The president has been fighting in court to defend his executive order from 2017 that denied federal funds to jurisdictions that refuse to enforce federal immigration law.
Sanctuary Cities released at least 142 Gang Members across the United States, making it easy for them to commit all forms of violent crimes where none would have existed. We are doing a great job of law enforcement, but things such as this make safety in America difficult!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 19, 2018
According to the CIS: “In FY2017, 142 gang members that ICE was seeking to deport were released by the local law enforcement agency instead of transferred to ICE custody. Two-thirds of the releases occurred in California, which has had a strict sanctuary policy in effect since January 2014. Fifteen of the aliens were members of the MS-13 gang and 127 were members of other gangs.”
The jurisdictions included were in California, Travis County, Texas (Austin), Montgomery County and Prince Georges County in Maryland, just outside of Washington. The Maryland releases included members of the dangerous MS-13 gang.
The president made sanctuary cities a key issue in the 2016 campaign after the murder of Kate Steinle in San Francisco, whose murderer got off on a technicality. President Trump continues to put pressure on liberal jurisdictions that resist Federal law.
RELATED: The 7 Places Standing With President Trump Against Sanctuary Cities
