Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) introduced a bill banning the Department of Transportation from providing federal funds to sanctuary cities.
The bill, called the No DOT Funds for Sanctuary Cities Act, looks to bar the Secretary of Transportation from “entering into, extending, or renewing a contract with, or awarding a grant to, a sanctuary city.”
“Anti-ICE protestors in sanctuary cities have vandalized roads, bridges, and other transportation infrastructure to make a political statement,” Johnson said in a statement. “Local authorities allow these protestors to destroy property then turn around and ask the federal government to foot the bill. This type of behavior is beyond the pale. My bill sends a message to state and local governments – if they want the federal government’s help, they gotta play by the rules.”
The bill stands in support of President Trump’s April executive order warning that sanctuary cities that fail to comply with immigration laws risk losing federal funding. The order states that defying immigration laws constitutes “lawless insurrection against the supremacy of Federal law and the Federal Government’s obligation to defend the territorial sovereignty of the United States.”
“Beyond the intolerable national security risks, such nullification efforts often violate Federal criminal laws, including those prohibiting obstruction of justice, unlawfully harboring or hiring illegal aliens, conspiracy against the United States, and conspiracy to impede Federal law enforcement,” Trump’s order notes.
Last month, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy declared that the department will not fund “rogue state actors who refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.”
“And to cities that stand by while rioters destroy transportation infrastructure,” he said, “don’t expect a red cent from DOT, either. Follow the law, or forfeit the funding.”
