Sanctuary cities cooperate after Sessions threatens to withhold grant funding

The Justice Department is battling in the courts to preserve President Trump’s anti-sanctuary city agenda, but it’s already notched some successes just by raising the issue.

Several major jurisdictions have said they’ll work with federal deportation officers, forgoing previous uncooperative policies, after Attorney General Jeff Sessions threatened to withhold federal grant money.

“Just telling people they are getting serious about it has already helped,” said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies. “In some ways it gives any politicians who were lukewarm on the sanctuary policies some leverage with the city council or whoever it was who imposed the policies.”

Miami-Dade County in Florida changed its policies to be more cooperative in the early days of the Trump administration, and this month New Orleans officials met with Mr. Sessions to smooth out disagreements over the city’s cooperation.

But the successes have been matched by renewed resistance from other jurisdictions ranging from San Francisco to Chicago and Philadelphia, each of which is battling in court to try to stop the administration’s funding threats.

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