President Donald Trump says illegal immigrants the Department of Homeland Security cannot keep in custody will be transported to cities that promote themselves as safe spaces for illegal immigrants.
'Those Illegal Immigrants who can no longer be legally held (Congress must fix the laws and loopholes) will be, subject to Homeland Security, given to Sanctuary Cities and States!' he said in a Monday tweet.
He called on Congress to return to Washington D.C. to 'fix the immigration laws' in another tweet, as he blamed Democrats for his failure to deliver on a key campaign promise to slow the flow of migrants into the United States.
'Congress should come back to D.C. now and FIX THE IMMIGRATION LAWS!' he insisted.
Lawmakers are on a two-week, legislative recess. They're meeting with constituents in their congressional districts.
The President has the power, under Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution, to call a special session of the Congress any time he chooses. Trump's tweet did not appear to be an order but a suggestion.
President Trump called on Congress to return to Washington D.C. to 'fix the immigration laws' as he struggles to full fill his key campaign promise. They are on a standard two-week recess
Trump also claimed that illegal immigrants the Department of Homeland Security can no longer keep in custody will be transported to cities that promote themselves as safe spaces for illegal immigrants
Trump made building a border wall and stemming the tide of illegal immigrants a key promise of his 2016 campaign.
But as his 2020 re-election bid gets closer, his wall remains unfunded by Congress.
He declared a national emergency to get the money but he will not be able to finish the border barrier before the next presidential election.
Even if he does, his administration has admitted that it won't totally solve the immigration problems the president has been raging about. That will take additional legislation from Congress and new Department of Homeland Security regulations.
Trump fired his Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen a week ago as he moved to put immigration hardliners in charge of it.
He insisted Monday, at a tax day event, that American immigration laws are 'horrible and foolish' and they allow thugs to claim asylum.
'It's a big con job that's what it is,' he contended. 'And Congress has to get smart. and when I say Congress, I can't blame the Republicans. The Republicans want to do it.'
He noted that it takes 60 votes in the Senate to pass most bills and Democrats currently control the House.
The president predicted in Minnesota, he state he lost in the 2016 election, that immigration would be a winning issue for him.
'We can retake the House,' he said. 'We can retake the House.'
He said last week that the White House was considering alternative ideas - such as dumping illegal immigrants into sanctuary cities - to control where migrants roam after they're mandatory release from government custody.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Sunday that Trump likes an administration plan to send them to sanctuary cities and called it a win 'everybody' as she appeared on Sunday morning news programs.
'The president likes the idea and Democrats have said they want these individuals into their communities so let's see if it works and everybody gets a win out of it,' she said on ABC's 'This Week.'
Trump made building a border wall and stemming the tide of illegal immigrants a key promise of his 2016 campaign. But as his 2020 re-election bid gets closer, his wall remains unfunded by Congress
The president confirmed that he was 'strongly' considering the measure, after the Washington Post reported on a plan to send immigrants in custody to the district of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Trump also made clear he intends to target the immigrants in U.S. custody in the home-states and districts of his political rivals – despite statements by his staff that it was not in the offing.
'California is always saying 'We want more people.' We will give them a lot. We will give them an unlimited supply,' Trump said Friday.
Pelosi's office blasted his idea. 'Using human beings - including little children - as pawns in their warped game to perpetuate fear and demonize immigrants is despicable,' said Pelosi spokeswoman Ashley Etienne said in statement Friday.
Sanders said the White House has explored a number of options to stop illegal immigrants from coming over the U.S.-Mexico border. She added that the sanctuary cities option would not be a top choice.
'We talked about a number of different things over the last two years that we'd love to see happen. Certainly this wouldn't be our first choice because ideally we wouldn't be dealing with the massive influx of illegal immigrants coming across the border, the crisis that we have both from a national security and humanitarian standpoint,' she told ABC News.
People belonging to a caravan of migrants from Honduras en route to the United States walk across a bridge as they leave Tapachula, Mexico, in April
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said President Trump likes a plan to dump illegal immigrants in sanctuary cities
President Donald Trump said he if the cities want more people he'll give them more
Sanctuary cities - and states - are those which in broad terms protect illegal immigrants from deportation by federal authorities.
There is no legal definition and no single set of laws - so agreeing which places are sanctuary cities or states is in itself contentious.
But broadly, most sanctuary cities say that their police officers do not ask for immigration status, and do not report it to the federal authorities when they detain, arrest or process suspects.
Most will also decline to detain illegal immigrants on requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement unless they are accused of serious crimes. The degree of seriousness varies from place to place. In New York, even a felony is no guarantee that an immigration detainer will be obeyed.
California is the biggest single sanctuary area, with local law enforcement agencies banned by state law from using money, personnel or equipment to help federal immigration authorities act against illegal.
While critics might say some places are sanctuary cities, local lawmakers often deny it. In Los Angeles, where cops are banned from stopping people solely on suspicion of being illegal, the mayor has rejected the label, and frequently co-operates with immigration agencies.
Cities which identify as sanctuary include:
Berkeley, California, since 1971
San Francisco, CA
Boulder, Colorado
Hartford, Connecticut
St Petersburg, Florida
