Trump Wanted to Relocate Detained Immigrants to Sanctuary Cities

With the resignation of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, speculation grew as to why she would leave her post now after all that has happened

Donald Trump Doesn't Think Puerto Rico — Photo: Unsplash/@HistoryHD

April 12, 2019 - 08:47

With the resignation of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, speculation grew as to why she would leave her post now after all that has happened. Nielsen’s legacy will go on as an official who not only went along with President Donald Trump’s “zero-tolerance” policy but also supported it under oath. While separating families didn’t push her to resign before, we may have an indication as to why she did so now.

The Washington Post is reporting that the Trump Administration wanted to relocate asylum seekers and detained immigrants currently in detention centers on the southern border to sanctuary cities throughout the country. The plan, reportedly executed by Trump senior advisor Stephen Miller, was nixed by the DHS because it would have been illegal.

According to the New York Times, May Davis, the deputy White House policy coordinator, wrote an email on Nov. 16, that said: “The idea has been raised by one to two principals that, if we are unable to build sufficient temporary housing, that caravan members be bussed to small- and mid-sized sanctuary cities,” and added, “There is not a White House decision on this.”

CNN confirmed that this was, in fact, a proposal by the Trump Administration.

These are people seeking safety, not political pawns.https://t.co/wX6Odq9sj4

— ACLU (@ACLU) April 12, 2019

“These are human beings, not game pieces,” the DHS official said to CNN, while a DHS spokesperson said in response, “This was a suggestion that was floated and rejected, which ended any further discussion.”

Democrat officials say this illegal plan was Trump’s way of retaliating against their party along with local state officials that oversee sanctuary cities such as Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, and New York.

In response to this plan prompted by the Trump Administration, presidential candidate Julian Castro said this plan while shocking isn’t surprising. “The cruelty of this administration never seems to end,” he said.

“The extent of this administration’s cynicism and cruelty cannot be overstated,” Ashley Etienne, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told The Washington Post. “Using human beings — including little children — as pawns in their warped game to perpetuate fear and demonize immigrants is despicable.”

As we have seen time and time again, the Trump Administration method of executing any sort of plan — when it comes to immigration — is to act on it, only to be stopped by federal courts. In this case, with the plan to relocate detained immigrants to sanctuary cities, we are seeing a plan of theirs get rejected before it’s implemented.

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