President Trump confirmed that the reports were true. Fed up with the Democrats' relaxed immigration policies, he is making them the following offer.
Due to the fact that Democrats are unwilling to change our very dangerous immigration laws, we are indeed, as reported, giving strong considerations to placing Illegal Immigrants in Sanctuary Cities only....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 12, 2019
....The Radical Left always seems to have an Open Borders, Open Arms policy – so this should make them very happy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 12, 2019
The Washington Post first reported on Thursday that the Trump administration was considering directing illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities via a form of political retaliation.
In a speech at the Democratic retreat in Leesburg, VA on Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi deemed the president's proposal "unworthy of the presidency."
“I don’t know anything about it, but, again, it’s just another notion that is unworthy of the presidency of the United States and disrespectful of the challenges that we face as a county, as a people, to address who we are: a nation of immigrants.”
Trump has long taken aim at sanctuary cities. In 2017, he directed the DOJ to warn jurisdictions who disobey immigration laws that they may be stripped of federal grant money. Former Acting Assistant Attorney General Alan Hanson sent the alert to officials in Sacramento, Chicago, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, New York City, Miami Dade County, Milwaukee County and Cook County.
This post has been updated with additional information.