White House chief of staff Reince Priebus defended President Donald Trump's move to block federal funding for "sanctuary cities" that shelter immigrants who come into the U.S. illegally, Fox News reports.
Priebus' comments came during an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity.
"Should places in this country that ignore the laws of this country when it comes to immigration receive federal money into their communities?" Priebus said. "And the answer to me is no."
The news network noted the sanctuary cities directive was part of a series of executive orders from Trump on Wednesday that dealt with immigration and border security.
"The point is," Priebus added, "if you defy the laws of this country, you shouldn't receive federal tax payer dollars from the people of this country . . . In some cases, you have folks that have committed crimes . . . and in every other jurisdiction, they say 'OK, you've committed a crime.
"You now have to leave the country.' That's normal, right? I think that's normal, but they're not doing that."
But the leaders of major U.S. cities like New York and Boston are gearing up to fight the White House over the issue, The Wall Street Journal reports.
"I believe in our sanctuary-city status, I think there are hundreds of mayors all over this country that are saying the same thing," San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, a Democrat, said.
The mayors of Boston and nearby Somerville, Mass., said they were willing to give up federal money rather than change the way their cities treat immigrants, according to the newspaper.
Joseph Curtatone, the Democratic mayor of Somerville, called the federal threat a "ransom," and estimated his city receives up to $12 million a year in federal money.
"Somerville is not going to waver," he said. "We're going to stand by our neighbors, our colleagues, the people who go to school with our children"
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