James Craig Detroit Police Car.jpg

File Photo, Tanya Moutzalias

(Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com)

Chief James Craig says the Detroit Police Department will continue to cooperate with federal efforts to deport non-citizens arrested in the city.

President Donald Trump has threatened to withhold federal funding from so-called "sanctuary" cities that refuse to notify federal authorities when they identify people who are in the country illegally during law enforcement operations.

Detroit has a city ordinance in place that prohibits police from soliciting "information concerning immigration status for the purpose of ascertaining a person's compliance with federal immigration law" or "information concerning immigration status from a person who is seeking police services, or is a victim, or is a witness."

But the ordinance does not bar police from sharing information or otherwise cooperating with federal immigration authorities, nor does it use the term "sanctuary."

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan's Chief of Staff Alexis Wiley issued a statement on the matter last week:



"If the definition of a Sanctuary City is one in which people are not profiled because of their appearance, Detroit is a Sanctuary City," the statement reads. "If the definition of a Sanctuary City is one in which local law enforcement refuses to cooperate with federal customs and immigration officials, Detroit is not a Sanctuary City.

"Whatever label is used, Detroit's commitment to making Detroit a Welcoming City to immigrants from around the world remains just as strong and all of Detroit's Welcoming City initiatives will continue."

And Craig this week said the city does indeed share information with federal immigration authorities.

"We will contact Immigration if they're here illegally," Craig told WDIV-TV, Channel 4 News reporter Shawn Ley. "We will cooperate and we've always cooperated, as had most cites."

The department, however, does not conduct policing specifically targeting immigration law violations.

Trump's order appears to define a "sanctuary jurisdiction" as a municipality that restricts or prohibits the sharing of a person's immigration status with federal authorities.

"Sanctuary jurisdictions across the United States willfully violate Federal law in an attempt to shield aliens from removal from the United States," Trump said in his executive order. "These jurisdictions have caused immeasurable harm to the American people and to the very fabric of our Republic.

" ... I hereby direct agencies to employ all lawful means to ensure the faithful execution of the immigration laws of the United States against all removable aliens."

Craig spoke to Channel 4 following a visit with Trump and other police chiefs across the nation at the White House, a meeting he called "very positive,' noting Trump is "very supportive" of law enforcement."

Trump has signed multiple executive orders related to crime and immigration enforcement. Since taking office, Trump ordered the hiring of 5,000 new Border Patrol and 10,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

The president signed to orders in support of law enforcement last week, including the creation of a Department of Justice crime reduction task force to support law enforcement efforts nationwide and to "collaborate with state, tribal, and local jurisdictions to restore public safety to all of our communities," and called for new federal laws and stricter punishment in an effort to prevent violence against police nationwide.

"In leadership positions, we must provide our unwavering support to those who serve and protect every day, who in some instances, as we know here in Detroit, made the ultimate sacrifice," Craig told Channel 4. "We lost three officers here in Detroit in last quarter of last year."