Trump Signs Executive Orders Defunding Sanctuary Cities and Building Border Wall

President Donald Trump signed executive orders the week of January 22 to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border and to crack down on so-called “sanctuary cities,” jurisdictions that have policies in place to limit local law enforcement cooperation with or involvement in federal immigration enforcement actions.

The “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States” executive order states that any city that does not comply with federal immigration enforcement agents “are not eligible to receive Federal grants, except as deemed necessary for law enforcement purposes by the Attorney General or the Secretary.” It is unclear which federal grants are at jeopardy, but they could include HUD grants like those from the Community Development Block Grants and HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) programs. The order provides the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the authority to define which cities are “sanctuary cities.”

President Trump also signed executive orders directing DHS to “take all appropriate steps to immediately plan, design, and construct” a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. It is unclear whether Congress will impose deeper cuts to non-defense discretionary spending, including spending on affordable housing, to pay for the wall.