The Department of Justice (DOJ) allocated $300 million to sanctuary cities in 2021. The Center for Immigration Studies provided this figure after analyzing three funding programs through which the federal agency reportedly mostly benefited local authorities that limit their collaboration with federal agencies.
The report asserts that the DOJ used "some of the largest sources of federal funding for state and local law enforcement" for the benefit of "agencies that may be violating federal law and undermining public safety."
A total of 11 state sanctuary agencies and 86 localities governed by sanctuary policies received 43% of the funding from three federal programs. Of these, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington were the three most favored.
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Sanctuary programs
Some 68% of the "leading source of federal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions," in the DOJ's words, went to sanctuary states and localities.
The program, called the Edward M. Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG), serves to fund a broad umbrella of local activities:
Law enforcement, prosecution, indigent defense, courts, crime prevention and education, corrections and community corrections, drug treatment and enforcement, planning, evaluation, technology improvement, crime victim and witness initiatives...
The second program analyzed by the Center for Immigration Studies is aimed at local prisons and jails. Its objective is to reimburse the cost of incarcerating illegal immigrants. Some 58% of the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) was allocated to sanctuary areas.
"The COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) Office awards grants to hire community policing professionals, develop and test innovative policing strategies, and provide training and technical assistance to community members, local government leaders, and all levels of law enforcement," the DOJ defines this latest program under scrutiny.
According to the immigration organization, 28% of this latest grant went to sanctuary areas.
Financing illegal immigration
The Center for Immigration Studies claims that its study demonstrates changes in state agencies' selection criteria for awarding economic benefits. It no longer matters whether these areas comply with federal law, in fact:
Certain of these (sanctuary) policies have been found to be a violation of federal law (8 USC 1373 and 1644), which says that no state or local government may prohibit or in any way restrict local officials from communicating with federal immigration authorities about a person’s immigration status.
By what criteria, then, are the beneficiaries chosen? "DOJ has begun requiring recipient agencies to provide information on their adherence to certain Biden administration policing policy preferences."
As an example, it explains that, as of 2022, applicants must complete a questionnaire on "diversity, equity, and inclusion" and about its "efforts to address racial, ethnic, gender, and LGBTQIA bias."
The think tank acknowledges that while the federal government may be powerless in the face of sanctuary policies, at the very least it should not fund them.
While it may not be possible for the federal government to compel state and local governments to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, it is reasonable for the federal government to try to discourage sanctuary policies and penalize jurisdictions that choose to obstruct such a legitimate and vital federal activity.
