IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - Iowa City officials say they don’t think the city will lose funding despite President Donald Trump’s move to cut federal funds to jurisdictions that don’t cooperate in enforcing federal immigration laws.
The City Council adopted a policy last week saying the city won’t enforce federal immigration law or commit local resources toward doing so, with some exceptions, the Iowa City Press-Citizen (https://icp-c.com/2koQia3 ) reported. The council’s decision came after it declined to pursue a “sanctuary city” label.
Trump’s order calls on the government to withhold federal grants and funding for “sanctuary cities,” and gives the Secretary of Homeland Security discretion to designate any jurisdiction as such.
Trump’s order cites a section of federal law that makes it illegal for federal, state and local government entities to prohibit sending or receiving an individual’s immigration status to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. Iowa City’s new policy states that city employees won’t be restricted in communicating with federal immigration authorities.
City Attorney Eleanor Dilkes said the city’s federal funding shouldn’t be in jeopardy.
“If you look at the executive order, the only thing that gives me some pause is that the director of office and management and budget is directed to obtain and provide relevant information on all federal grant money that currently is received by any ’sanctuary jurisdiction,’” she said. “In terms of the specific Section 9, that is saying they want to ensure that states and political subdivisions comply with that section of the code, I can confidently say we do.”
Iowa City’s annual financial report shows it received more than $18 million in federal grants in fiscal year 2016. More than $213,000 came from U.S. Department of Justice grants.
Iowa City’s policy includes exceptions for public safety threats, violent offenders or situations in which cooperation with ICE is necessary to protect the public.
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Information from: Iowa City Press-Citizen, https://www.press-citizen.com/
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