But it represented, as the resolution stated, support for “policies protecting vulnerable populations” threatened by those who would “unconstitutionally and illegally misuse the power of the federal government.”

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But Wednesday night, the council rescinded the resolution by a 5-2 vote, amid shouts of “spineless” from someone in the audience, which was filled with both supporters and detractors of the sanctuary city concept.

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What happened in between the two decisions? Quite a bit.

The council got scared off, it appears, which is exactly what the Trump administration’s policy is meant to do.

Immediately after the council passed the resolution, three GOP members of Congress from Michigan denounced the move in no uncertain terms. Rep. Mike Bishop, whose district includes Lansing, called it “completely reckless,” adding that it “sends a dangerous message that local governments or individuals can simply pick and choose which laws they wish to follow.”

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He and others noted that the Trump administration has threatened to cut off federal funds to sanctuary cities and also to shame cities that don’t sufficiently cooperate with immigration authorities attempt to round up undocumented immigrants.

Lansing, Michigan’s capital city, receives some $6.5 million in federal money, according to the Lansing State Journal.

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The Journal’s editorial board had warned against the designation, noting among other things that a bill before the Michigan legislature would withhold state revenue sharing from sanctuary cities.

On April 6, the presidents of the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Michigan Chamber of Congress wrote a joint letter complaining about the sanctuary city designation, saying it “placed an unnecessary target on the City of Lansing while jeopardizing millions of dollars in federal funding that impacts the city budget. A budget, that cannot afford to fill a gap this significant …

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“Let’s maintain an approach that makes investing and doing business in Lansing just as attractive as Detroit, Grand Rapids, Traverse City and other growing and thriving cities.”

When the council convened to reconsider the resolution, a crowd showed up, including a significant contingent of Trump supporters wearing Trump T-shirts in support of rescinding the April 3 resolution.

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“Trump is going to know exactly what you’re doing,” Rose Atkins, one of the Trump supporters, said before the vote, MLive reported.

One council member wondered whether the designation wasn’t simply confusing, since it didn’t do anything the city wasn’t already doing.

“It’s a darn shame that after appearing to have a backbone and actually taken a stand on something that really matters, folks have decided to throw it away,” council member Kathie Dunbar said, according to MLive. “And the message that sends to folks is really sad.”

Correction: An earlier version incorrectly referred to East Lansing instead of Lansing.