Congressional Democrats are demanding Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsGOP set to release controversial Biden report Trump's policies on refugees are as simple as ABCs Ocasio-Cortez, Velázquez call for convention to decide Puerto Rico status MORE explain why he’s withholding federal crime-fighting funds from cities unless they cooperate with federal efforts to crack down on illegal immigration.

In a letter Thursday, 12 Senate Democrats and 41 House Democrats asked Sessions what statutory authority he has to put new conditions on federal funding for local law enforcement through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne-JAG) program.

The Justice Department announced in July that it would only provide funding to cities and states that comply with federal law, allow federal immigration access to detention facilities and provide 48 hours notice before they release an undocumented immigrant wanted by federal authorities.

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Chicago reportedly sued soon after, claiming the Trump administration’s new policy forces cities to choose between receiving the money or fulfilling their constitutional obligations.

In their letter to Sessions this week, Democrats including Sen. Cory Booker Cory Anthony BookerBipartisan praise pours in after Ginsburg's death DHS opens probe into allegations at Georgia ICE facility Democratic lawmakers call for an investigation into allegations of medical neglect at Georgia ICE facility MORE (N.J.) and Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (Ill.) called the conditions “an unwarranted, coercive effort to leverage communities’ long-standing reliance on Byrne-JAG funds in furtherance of the Trump Administration’s mass-deportation agenda.”

“By forcing local law enforcement to choose between redirecting resources from policing efforts to immigration enforcement or else sacrificing violence prevention funds that the Justice Department itself has described as ‘critical’ and ‘necessary,’ these new Byrne-JAG conditions will undermine the ability of local law enforcement agencies to combat gun violence in communities like Chicago and Baltimore,” they wrote.

The lawmakers asked Sessions to answer a series of questions, including how the department intends to evaluate “compliance” with the new conditions and whether it can guarantee the conditions are constitutional.