The Trump administration does not support sanctuary cities — and if some mayors "have a problem with that, they should talk to Congress, the people who pass the laws," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday.
"The White House has been very clear: We don't support sanctuary cities," she told reporters. "We support enforcing the law and following the law.
"That is the Department of Justice's job, to do exactly that."
The agency Wednesday sent letters to 23 sanctuary cities seeking federal public safety grant money, threatening subpoenas if they don't relinquish information proving that they are not withholding information about the citizenship or immigration status of people in custody.
Among the cities that have defied the administration are Chicago and Philadelphia. Lawsuits are pending there and in California over whether the White House has overstepped its boundaries by seeking to hold back money.
Members of the U.S. Conference of Mayors boycotted a White House meeting with President Donald Trump on Wednesday to discuss infrastructure, drug addiction and other topics.
"If mayors have a problem with that, they should talk to Congress, the people who pass the laws," Sanders told reporters. "The Department of Justice enforces them.
"As long as that is the law, the Department of Justice is going to strongly enforce it."
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