President Trump plans to sign two executive orders on Monday that will ramp up his immigration crackdown, including one targeting local jurisdictions that the administration says are not cooperating with its aggressive actions on deportations.
The orders will be Mr. Trump’s latest salvo against so-called sanctuary cities, meaning jurisdictions that limit or refuse to cooperate with federal officials’ efforts to arrest undocumented immigrants. As the president attempts to increase the pace of deportations, his administration has grown increasingly frustrated that some jurisdictions won’t hold migrants in jail beyond their release dates to make it easier for federal officials to detain them.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said Monday that one executive order would direct Pam Bondi, the attorney general, and Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, to publish a list of state and local jurisdictions that the Trump administration considers “sanctuary cities,” while the administration pursues legal action against officials it says are impeding enforcement efforts.
Ms. Leavitt said the second executive order will “unleash America’s law enforcement to pursue criminals.” The New York Post reported that the order was expected to address legal support for officers accused of wrongdoing and military equipment for local police departments.
The Trump administration has already sued the city of Rochester, N.Y., accusing officials there of illegally impeding immigration enforcement. And the Justice Department is prosecuting a Milwaukee judge on charges of obstructing immigration agents.
Rochester’s mayor, Malik D. Evans, and City Council president, Miguel Meléndez, released a joint statement on Friday criticizing the lawsuit.
“On its face, the complaint is an exercise in political theater, not legal practice,” the statement said, adding, “The City of Rochester is committed to investing its resources on public safety for all, not doing the federal government’s work of immigration enforcement.”
Meanwhile, a federal judge in San Francisco temporarily blocked the government from enforcing part of an executive order directing agencies to withhold funds from cities and counties that do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
“It’s quite simple,” Ms. Leavitt said Monday. “Obey the law, respect the law, and don’t obstruct federal immigration officials and law enforcement officials when they are simply trying to remove public safety threats from our nation’s communities.”
The executive orders are expected as the 100th day of Mr. Trump’s second term looms on Tuesday. The White House has scheduled a week of events promoting his actions so far, beginning with his immigration crackdown.
The White House lawn was lined Monday morning with mug shot-style posters of undocumented migrants who were arrested and accused of committing crimes.
At a morning news conference, Tom Homan, the Trump administration’s border czar, said the administration had carried out 139,000 deportations. That figure lags behind the pace of the final year of the Biden administration, which seemed to annoy Mr. Homan.
He said the number would be higher but, because border crossings had fallen so significantly, there were fewer people to turn back.
“Am I happy with that? The numbers are good,” he said, adding: “I read the media, ‘Oh, ICE deportations are behind Biden administration.’ Well, why? Because they counted border removals.”
Mr. Homan said the administration would, as of Tuesday, begin to enforce its plan to make undocumented immigrants ages 14 and older register and provide their fingerprints to the U.S. government or potentially face criminal prosecution.
