Exclusive-U.S. Justice Department ends Trump-era limits on grants to 'sanctuary cities'
Reuters | Apr 28, 2021 11:34 PM EDT
A view of the One World Trade Centre tower and the lower Manhattan skyline of New York City at sunrise as seen from Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S. (Photo : REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo)
The U.S. Justice Department has repealed a policy put in place during Donald Trump's presidency that cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to sanctuary cities that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
In an internal memo seen by Reuters, acting head of the Office of Justice Programs Maureen Henneberg said that prior grant recipients, including cities, counties and states that were recipients of the department's popular $250 million annual grant program for local law enforcement, will no longer be required to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a condition of their funding.