President Donald Trump's executive order to block federal funding for the nation's sanctuary cities is "very susceptible to legal challenge," and New York City plans to go to court immediately for an injunction to stop the order if an attempt to pull the funds from the city is made, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday.
"If they make an attempt to pull that money, it will be from NYPD, from security funding to fight terrorism," the mayor told CNN's "New Day" co-host Alisyn Camerota.
"We believe the executive order is vague and in some ways contradictory."
On Wednesday, Trump signed an order to stop federal funds from going to cities such as New York and San Francisco, which have policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agencies.
De Blasio said the move will make the nation's cities less safe, not more, and in New York, the police department has been building relationships with immigrant communities for decades, and he fears that if undocumented people are worried about being deported, they will not report terrorism threats and other criminal activities.
"This is the kind of thing that will destroy that progress and make it impossible for the police to keep cities safe," he told Camerota.
New York City has a list of roughly 170 criminal offenses that are not covered by the sanctuary policy, however, the New York Post reports.
"These are serious offenses, violent crimes. This is the law of New York, has been for years, and it has been the basis for productive cooperation with the federal government. This works," the mayor said, according to the Post.
The list includes felony assault, rape and murder and terrorism, as well as gun smuggling, witness tampering and patronizing a prostitute, among others.
The city's Executive Order 124 was signed in August 1989 by Mayor Ed Koch.
Rudy Giuliani defended it as mayor, saying it "protects undocumented immigrants in New York City from being reported" to the federal government "while they are using city services that are critical for their health and safety, and for the health and safety of the entire city," according to the Post.
De Blasio also on Thursday called on Congress to reimburse his city for the cost of securing Trump and his family, saying the protection is putting a strain on the police department.
Trump Tower was used for a series of meetings during Trump's transition period, and his wife Melania and son Barron plan to remain living in the Manhattan building until the school year ends.
"It's put a huge strain on the NYPD to protect not only the First Family and the staff that's been working at Trump Tower but Trump Tower itself, which is a very centrally located and very vulnerable building," De Blasio said.
"It's costing us about half a million dollars a day to secure a building that is exposed on."
The city will keep providing the protection, as it's the "right thing to do," the mayor said, but it still expects Congress to reimburse the money "so we can continue to do the work of safety all over this city," he said.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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