President also criticized over reports he urged CBP chief to close Mexico border, offering a pardon if he broke the law

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Democrats have accused Donald Trump’s administration of “cruelty” and using people as political pawns in the wake of reports that presidential aides considered a plan to release migrants in sanctuary cities.

At least twice in the past six months, the White House weighed a plan to pressure US immigration authorities to release people detained at the border in these cities, which limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, according to the Washington Post.

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Trump confirmed that his White House was considering such a plan on Friday afternoon, contradicting his own Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which told reporters it had rejected the plan.

Trump tweeted: “Due to the fact that Democrats are unwilling to change our very dangerous immigration laws, we are indeed, as reported, giving strong considerations to placing Illegal Immigrants in Sanctuary Cities only.... The Radical Left always seems to have an Open Borders, Open Arms policy – so this should make them very happy!”

In an earlier statement, DHS said: “This was a suggestion that was floated and rejected, which ended any further discussion.”

Democrats said the proposal was another example of the Trump administration’s extreme measures to curb legal and illegal immigration.

They also highlighted that viewing such a move as punishment was unusual, since it would affect cities that already welcome more immigrants than the rest of the country, such as Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City.

“It takes a truly warped mind to think that releasing families who sought asylum at the border in Sanctuary Cities would be a ‘punishment’,” said New York City’s comptroller, Scott Stringer, on Twitter. “These families are just seeking a better life, and Sanctuary Cities exist because we *want them here*.”

Trump also faced criticism over fresh reports that he had urged his soon-to-be acting homeland security secretary to close the southern border, and said that he would pardon the official if he were to run afoul of the law.

Two people familiar with the private conversation told the Associated Press the conversation with Kevin McAleenan, then the Customs and Border Protection commissioner, came during the president’s trip last week to Calexico, California.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss what was said.

It was not clear whether the president was joking or why McAleenan would find himself in personal legal jeopardy. But the comments came just a day after Trump told reporters that he was delaying his threat to close the border because Mexico appeared to be stepping up its efforts.

“At no time has the president indicated, asked, directed or pressured the acting secretary to do anything illegal,” a DHS spokesman said.

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The government has said the US-Mexico border is at a “breaking point” because of the crowds of Central American families seeking asylum there, though its policies have so far focused on deterrence, instead of responding to the factors driving people to flee Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

“The cruelty of this administration never seems to end,” said Julián Castro, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president ahead of the 2020 election.

Speaking at a CNN town hall event on Thursday night, Castro compared the sanctuary cities proposal to family separation, which failed to deter people from coming to the border.

“Now they are talking about bussing families to particular cities to target political opponents,” Castro said. “These folks want us to choose cruelty as a weapon against people and against political opponents.”

Another Democratic presidential hopeful, Amy Klobuchar, said Trump was “literally using human beings as pawns in a political game”.

“Instead of passing comprehensive immigration reform he does this: White House proposed releasing immigrant detainees in sanctuary cities, targeting political foes,” Klobuchar said on Twitter.

In January 2017, the Trump administration instructed the US attorney general to withhold funding for sanctuary cities, but the decision was quickly challenged in court. In November 2018, a federal judge ruled the crackdown was unconstitutional.