Trump takes aim at NYC in sanctuary city battle

The Trump administration’s ongoing feud with sanctuary cities reached a fever pitch this month as the Department of Homeland Security sparred with New York, historically one of the department’s strongest partners — resulting in a week of hostile exchanges between the President and New York governor that ended in a White House showdown, according to FOX 5 San Diego.

The clash, triggered by a state law that bars DHS from obtaining information from DMV databases, underscored the increasingly tense relationship between the administration and so-called sanctuary cities, which limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly railed against those jurisdictions, arguing that they put public safety at risk by restricting access to federal immigration authorities. And while sanctuary policies are not new, they’ve been pushed to the forefront over the course of Trump’s presidency as the administration doubles down on its campaign to end illegal immigration.

“I think we have entered into a place where the debate about immigration policy in this country is an all or nothing all-out battle between the government and advocates — and the states are in the middle,” said Theresa Cardinal Brown, director of immigration and cross-border policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

The fight between New York and the Department of Homeland Security that is expected to impact thousands of people is an example of just how politicized the issue has become. The so-called Green Light Law at the center of the fight not only allowed undocumented immigrants to obtain a driver’s license but also barred federal immigration agencies from using the state’s DMV database over fear information would be used for immigration enforcement purposes.

Full report here: FOX 5 San Diego