Top House Democrats including Reps. Jerrold Nadler (L) and Elijah Cummings wrote a letter seeking documents dating back to November 2018, when the White House was first considering the plan. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo Democrats launch probe into Trump’s sanctuary city push

Top House Democrats are launching an investigation into President Donald Trump’s contentious proposal to release undocumented immigrants detained at the border into so-called sanctuary cities.

The leaders of the House Judiciary Committee, House Oversight Committee and House Homeland Security Committee wrote to senior White House officials on Monday seeking emails and other documents related to the plan, which they called a “bizarre and unlawful attempt to score political points.”


“Not only does the Administration lack the legal authority to transfer detainees in this manner, it is shocking that the President and senior Administration officials are even considering manipulating release decisions for purely political reasons,” the three chairmen, Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), and Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), wrote in the letter.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed Sunday that the administration is considering a proposal to allow officials to transfer undocumented immigrants into cities that have limited their cooperation with federal immigration agencies.

Those sanctuary cities — such as San Francisco, New York and Boston — tend to be concentrated in Democratic congressional districts.

Sanders said Sunday that the idea would “spread out” the “burden” of undocumented immigrants across the U.S.

House Democrats are seeking documents dating back to November 2018, when the White House was first considering the plan, but which was reportedly rejected by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

This report first appeared on politico.com on April 15, 2019.