MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) -- In a White House speech today, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions made a strong statement about the Trump administration's tolerance for cities declaring sanctuary status.

"The president has rightly said that disregard for law must end," Sessions said.

"Such policies cannot continue. They make our nation less safe by putting dangerous criminals back on the streets."

While there is no official legal definition for a sanctuary city, most self-proclaimed sanctuary cities establish de facto sanctuary status through policies that discourage local enforcement of federal immigration law. Police chief Mike Koval says Madison will continue to be one of those cities, even under continued threats from the current administration.

"Our policy's been consistent," Koval said.

"We are, in a de facto sanctuary city, because we are not looking to deport people for minor violations and transgressions of the federal government."

Koval said that Madison Police Department will thoroughly vet any detainer requests from ICE through a judicial decree or probable cause hearing - and that the city will only comply with ICE detainers under certain circumstances, like when the individual has a prior deportation or has committed a serious crime.

The Trump administration has threatened to pull funding from cities that refuse to comply with ICE. Sessions urged those cities to reconsider their actions in his Monday statement.

"I strongly urge our nation's states, cities and counties to consider carefully the harm they are doing to their citizens by refusing to enforce our immigration laws, and to rethink these policies," said Sessions.

In a phone interview Monday, Madison Mayor Paul Soglin responded to the threat of federal funding cuts, saying that "we are confident that within hours of any Trump action, we will have federal courts issuing restraining orders."

In response to whether Madison was functioning as a sanctuary city, Soglin said the city's current policies were "simply protecting the laws of the constitution from violation."

In response to the same question, Koval added that "whatever you call us, I just want us to be called welcoming and hospitable to everyone."

Copyright: WMTV 2017