President Trump says he’s
President Trump taunted California on Friday with an attention-grabbing threat to dump detained migrants into the state’s “sanctuary cities,” despite warnings from his advisors that such action would run afoul of the law.
The presidential rhetoric seemed geared toward provocation, and it was unclear how seriously he intended it. Trump has made previous threats against the state, including one to withhold disaster relief money after devastating wildfires, without ultimately following through.
Trump both tweeted and spoke about the proposal after the Washington Post published a story on Thursday revealing that the idea had been discussed several times in recent months. Administration officials told the newspaper Thursday that the idea had been “floated and rejected,” but Trump undercut their denials on Friday, insisting it he was still giving the idea “strong consideration.”
The plan would call for busing migrants from detention centers near the border and releasing them into the districts of Democratic lawmakers and other opponents of Trump’s immigration policies. Though many other states have sanctuary counties and cities, Trump has repeatedly singled out California for criticism.
“California certainly is always saying, ‘Oh, we want more people,’” Trump told reporters during an unrelated White House event Friday. “And they want more people in their sanctuary cities. Well, we’ll give them more people. We can give them a lot. We can give them an unlimited supply. Let’s see if they’re so happy.
“They’re always saying they have open arms. Let’s see if they have open arms,” he continued.
Trump repeated his complaints about Democrats’ unwillingness to change asylum laws and his contention that gang members and others with criminal records were abusing the system.
He also claimed that smugglers had left Texas ranches along the border littered with bodies after abandoning the migrants with nothing more than a sandwich, a soda and vague directions to Houston.
