Michigan sanctuary cities Detroit and Ann Arbor could lose local
government funding for providing sanctuary for undocumented
 immigrants under an executive order signed Wednesday by
President Donald Trump. The president’s order makes good on
 campaign promises to dismantle sanctuary cities by ending federal
 block grant funding.
Sanctuary cities and counties are called that because they offer sanctuary
 to illegal immigrants, refusing to turn them over to federal officials
for deportation.
While it is the cities that tend to get the most notice, it is often
counties, which usually run the jails, that have real power to protect
 immigrants.
Sources who spoke with Patch say that the most likely target of
 funding would be the various grants given to local governments
 through the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland
 Security.
The two departments administer billions in grants — many of which
go to law enforcement agencies in the more than 300 cities and
 counties that have declared themselves sanctuary cities.


These range from Homeland Security's Urban Area Security Initiative,
 which helps cities prepare for acts of terrorism, to the Edward Byrne
Grant Program, which was named for a New York City Police Officer
killed in the line of duty and provides funding for a range of programs
 including crime victim assistance, drug patrols, and drug treatment.
Trump was also expected to impose visa restrictions for people from
the Middle East, authorize the building of a wall on the Mexican border,
and suspending the program that admits refugees into the United States.
The sources who spoke with Patch were not sure what would be
announced on Wednesday and what on Thursday.
Photo via The White House