Mayor de Blasio vowed to fight President Trump after the commander-in-chief said he’d punish “sanctuary cities” like New York by withholding federal funding.
“We’ll see him in court,” Hizzoner said at an unrelated press conference Thursday.
“It’s unconstitutional for the federal government to withhold security funding from a locality-based upon a policy disagreement,” de Blasio continued. “That still needs to be further adjudicated in court, and we’ll see him in court.”
The mayor pointed to a 2012 Supreme Court ruling that the feds couldn’t withhold Medicaid funding from states that refused to comply with rules for Obamacare as precedent disproving Trump’s logic.
Trump has been on a punitive rampage against his native city, where he is hugely unpopular. Last month, his administration pulled the plug on a study examining ways to protect the city from the next Hurricane Sandy. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has reportedly stepped up crackdowns in the Big Apple and other sanctuary cities that have immigrant-friendly policies.
“The Federal Government will be withholding funds from Sanctuary Cities. They should change their status and go non-Sanctuary. Do not protect criminals!” Trump tweeted Thursday, the latest in a series of threats against sanctuary cities.
*Story by New York Daily News