White House: Plan to Send Immigrants to ‘Sanctuary Cities’ an ‘Olive Branch’ to Democrats – Do You Agree?

What’s the story?

• President Donald Trump’s proposal to transfer unauthorized immigrants to so-called “sanctuary cities” should be viewed as an olive-branch to Democrats, not political retribution, the White House says.

"It's not political retribution," Hogan Gidley, the White House deputy press secretary, told NPR. "If anything, you should consider it on the Democrat side to be an olive branch."

• This contrasts a report in the Washington Post, which initially broke the story, that cited White House officials as proposal was seen as a way "to retaliate against President Trump's political adversaries."
• Trump tweeted about the plan Monday morning:

What are people saying?

• Gidley told NPR that the Trump administration has proposed myriad ways of stemming the flow of unauthorized immigrants to the U.S., but Democrats haven’t "come to the table."

"So the logical answer is to give them something they want," Gidley said. "Democrats say that if you even think about rejecting people into this country illegally, that you are somehow racist. So the question then becomes, do Democrats want to allow these people to be shipped into their communities?"

• Gidley signaled out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco district as a potential destination.
• "We looked at it and said, where are the logical places to kind of spread the wealth, if you will, and places like San Francisco, for example, or a sanctuary city, they are designed and set up specifically to have people there who aren't here legally," Gidley said. "That's what their stated goal is, so there is no reason we shouldn't be looking at a way to give them exactly what they want."
• On Monday, three Democratic House committee chairmen sent a letter to acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan asking for clarification and comment on the proposed plan.
• “We are deeply troubled by multiple reports, recently confirmed by the President, that the Trump Administration is considering releasing detained immigrants into congressional districts represented by Democrats in a bizarre and unlawful attempt to score political points,” the letter reads.

“Not only does the Administration lack the legal authority to transfer detainees in this manner, it is shocking that the President and senior Administration officials are even considering manipulating release decisions for purely political reasons.”

• The three-page letter was written by Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler of New York; Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings of Maryland; and Homeland Security Committee Bennie Thompson of Mississippi.

What do you think?

Do you support Trump's proposal to bus unauthorized immigrants to sanctuary cities? The move would almost certainly require Congressional approval of funds, so take action above and tell your reps. Then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com / vinzo)