Former President Trump, campaigning Saturday in North Carolina, said he would be calling on Congress to pass legislation banning sanctuary cities, if elected president.
“As soon as I take office, we will immediately surge federal law enforcement to every city that is failing, which is a lot of them, to turn over criminal aliens, and we will hunt down, capture every single gang member, drug dealer, rapist, murderer and migrant criminal that is being illegally harbored,” Trump said during a rally in Wilmington, N.C.
“I will ask Congress to pass a law outlawing sanctuary cities nationwide, and we demand the full weight of the federal government on any jurisdiction that refuses to cooperate with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement],” he continued.
The term “sanctuary cities” generally refers to municipalities that “decline to cooperate completely with federal detention requests related to undocumented immigrants,” according to Britannica, and have regularly been a point of contention among Republicans.
The issue of immigration has become a flash point in the 2024 election, particularly after Trump and his GOP running mate, JD Vance, have amplified false claims over Haitian migrants in Ohio, including inaccurate statements about eating pets.
Their comments over Haitian migrants has even prompted pushback from local Republicans.
“They’re very hurtful. It’s very hurtful to people,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine told NewsNation anchor Chris Cuomo earlier this week. “It’s hurtful to the people in Springfield, hurtful to the Haitians who are working every day.”