The Justice Department contacted those local governments last year over concerns that they had violated a federal statute that says they must not restrict communications with federal authorities about citizenship or immigration status.

In a statement on Wednesday, Mr. Sessions reiterated that those local governments would lose federal funding if they violated that statute. The sentiment was echoed by a senior Justice Department official who said the department was taking a step to ensure that communities that accepted federal tax money were complying with federal law.

The official would not say what would happen if local governments ignored Mr. Sessions’s letter and fought the subpoena in court, but he said he was optimistic that the jurisdictions would comply with the request for documents.

The strong backlash from mayors made it seem unlikely that the local politicians would work amicably with the Trump administration on the issue. Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York, who said he had traveled to Washington to attend the White House meeting but canceled on his way to the capital, called the administration’s decision to release the letter on the day Mr. Trump was to meet with a group of mayors “premeditated” and “incoherent.”

As Mr. Trump was set to meet with the mayors who did not cancel, Mr. de Blasio stood in the Capital Hilton and pointedly challenged the White House response, issued through Ms. Sanders, that the mayors who canceled should take up their complaints with Congress.

“They’re simply trying to demonize immigrants as part of their current congressional strategy,” Mr. de Blasio said. “That’s what that says to me, if that’s the game they’re playing.”