And so, the Trump administration begins. The newly inaugurated president has set an extraordinarily high bar for his second term, with executive orders to secure the border, increase fossil fuel production, end the federal government’s DEI programs, revive the economy, and much more. Because Donald Trump’s agenda is wide-reaching, expectations among his supporters are high and therefore failure to reach his announced goals would be a huge disappointment to them. Trump’s honeymoon period could be briefer than the typical 100 days allowed for incoming presidents. But if Trump can succeed on ending illegal immigration and removing criminal aliens – voters’ top concern – then he will at least have reversed former President Joe Biden’s open borders era. Tom Homan, the border czar, has promised to begin his alien removal program in sanctuary cities, a headache to immigration enforcement since the early 1970s. Berkeley, California, claims to have been the first sanctuary when it offered refuge to Vietnamese war victims. Despite Berkeley’s dubious claim – most Vietnamese nationals were legally present refugees – sanctuary cities ballooned to today’s 300 across 13 states. The largest sanctuary cities are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. Sanctuary is the practice of shielding illegal aliens who have violated federal immigration law and blocking them from immigration officers’ reach. Originally limited to a handful of church groups that welcomed a family or two that illegally crossed the border, sanctuary cities have grown into something much larger and more dangerous. Self-proclaimed sanctuary communities have harbored convicted murderers, rapists and kidnappers, and have spent tens of millions of dollars on shelter and on providing social services. Homan has repeatedly stated his priority is to remove criminals, especially those in sanctuary cities. Until the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal identified Chicago as the first Immigration and Customs Enforcement target, Homan had scheduled as many as 200 agents to descend on the Windy City to begin operations. The leaks, Homan said, put officers’ safety at risk and may cause him to re-evaluate the removal schedule. Chicago, a sanctuary city for 40 years, is perfect for Homan to begin his enforcement operation. In 1985, then-Mayor Harold Washington signed an executive order granting sanctuary to all people, regardless of their immigration status, and providing access to city services and benefits. Washington’s order was formalized into the “Welcoming City Ordinance” in 2006, which barred local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed a similar order for the entire state in 2021. As a result, the arrival of 628,000 illegal aliens cost state taxpayers $2.9 billion annually. Since 2022, more than 20,000 migrants have settled in Chicago, many of whom slept at O’Hare International Airport, at local police stations, in public parks or on the streets. Overall costs to house the illegal alien influx tops $330 million. Instead of ending sanctuary policies, which would deter illegal aliens, both Illinois Gov. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson blame the federal government while demanding it provide aid and work permits for illegal aliens. Because of its tenuous budgetary conditions, exacerbated by financing illegal aliens, S&P downgraded Chicago’s credit rating to BBB, a step above the lowest investment-grade, BBB-, which is a notch above junk level. But another option in addition to deporting criminals that would cripple sanctuary cities is available to the Trump administration. Sanctuary cities violate federal immigration law, which says no state or local government may prohibit or in any way restrict local officials from communicating with immigration authorities about a person’s immigration status. Yet another option is for the federal government to stop sending millions of dollars to cities that violate immigration laws and, through their craven disregard, jeopardize public safety. Every year, the Department of Justice doles out hundreds of millions to sanctuary jurisdictions under three funding programs — the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, the Byrne Justice Assistance Grants, and the Community Oriented Policing Services program. These monetary awards represent about 40% of the available funding under these programs. Sanctuary jurisdictions receive funding despite actively hindering cooperation between local law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities. Consequently, the funding programs subsidize cities that violate federal law and undermine community welfare. California, by a wide margin, receives the greatest aggregate sum from the three programs. Defunding sanctuary cities would avoid the dramatic arrest process – handcuffs, police cars and ICE officers – that would create negative press coverage for the administration. To end the criminality that sanctuary cities represent, the Trump administration should seal the border, covered in one of his election night executive orders, remove dangerous criminals from sanctuary jurisdictions, and stop sending the defiant municipalities money. Joe Guzzardi is an Institute for Sound Public Policy analyst who has written about immigration for more than 30 years. His column is distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. The post Joe Guzzardi | Sanctuary Cities: Time to End Them appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.