President Donald Trump raised the possibility of sending illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities, those that reject the deportation of undocumented immigrants, in retaliation for their refusal to implement the executive’s tough immigration measures, local media reported on Friday.
The White House plan was to send some of these “small and medium-sized towns” to the bulk of immigrants detained at the border, with the intention that the local authorities would be plunged into chaos when they were released from prison, according to the newspaper “The Washington Post”.
The capital’s publication, which quotes anonymous sources and claims to have had access to some of the official emails outlining the plan, maintains that the government’s main intention was to retaliate against municipalities controlled by democrats who refuse to implement the president’s inmigration policies.
The White House indicated to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE), according to the newspaper, that its intention was both to alleviate the problem of lack of space in the detention centers and to send a message to the Democrats.
This option, however, caused unrest in the immigration agency to consider that it could lead to serious legal and image problems.
The Government had put this option on the table at the end of last year, coinciding with the arrival of two caravans of migrants from Central America to the southern border of the country, and brought it back to the fore last February.
Among the municipalities affected by this measure was the District 12 of California, whose representative in the House of Representatives is the Democrat Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi has been one of the most critical voices with Trump’s immigration policies and his refusal to accept funds for the construction of the wall on the border with Mexico led the Administration to the longest partial closure in its history: 35 days.
The congresswoman’s office has reacted by pointing out that “the cynicism and cruelty of this Administration can not be underestimated.”
For its part, the White House sent a statement to the newspaper in which it has justified that: “This was just a suggestion that was raised and rejected.”
