President Trump’s executive order aimed at stripping federal money from states and sanctuary cities he believes shelter illegal immigrants has not stopped Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren from going ahead with plans to update Rochester’s sanctuary resolution.
If the Trump Administration does cut off federal funding to cities that don’t cooperate with the president’s immigration crackdown, Rochester stands to lose around $5.6 million. That’s only one percent of its annual budget. Most of that is Community Development Block Grant money, mostly used for affordable housing projects.
Rochester has not joined cities like New York and Seattle that are telling the President “see you in court.” But Mayor Warren says her legal staff is working with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office on a new “City of Sanctuaries” resolution for the Flower City. Warren says she wants to update the city’s 1986 sanctuary resolution with one that protects Rochester citizens while abiding by federal laws. The mayor says her intent is that city resources not be used for immigration enforcement.
There’s no real standard for a “Sanctuary City,” but it means that a local government doesn’t care about the immigration status of its citizens, and usually means local police don’t cooperate directly with federal immigration authorities. Last week, A.G. Schneiderman anticipated the Trump Administration by releasing standards telling communities how far they can go and still be within the letter of the law.