The Trump administration is actively exploring ways to legally withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with immigration enforcement — meaning American taxpayers may finally stop bankrolling municipalities that shield illegal aliens from the law.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin revealed the plan Tuesday on Fox News, saying he had just left the Oval Office where the conversation was underway. "Literally 20 minutes ago, I was sitting in the Oval Office of the president, and we were having this conversation about how do we withhold funding legally from these sanctuary cities," Mullin told Laura Ingraham.
The stakes are straightforward. Sanctuary cities like New York collect federal dollars for infrastructure — including international airports processing immigrants — while actively obstructing the federal immigration enforcement those same dollars are supposed to support. Mullin made the point plainly: "Why are we allowing these sanctuary cities to still get funding from the federal government when it comes to, let's say, their airport, when we're processing immigration through these international airports?"
The announcement comes as DHS ramps up enforcement. Mullin highlighted "Operation Rotten Apple," a sweep in New York that resulted in more than 2,100 arrests of illegal immigrants — including individuals accused of murder, rape, child sexual abuse, and drug trafficking. Mullin pushed back on local officials who resist federal enforcement: "I enforce the laws that Congress passed. But Congress and these other liberal politicians, these sanctuary cities and sanctuary states, are the ones who are griping the loudest about the work that my ICE agents are doing every day."
Notably, two of the three major outlets covering DHS this week buried the sanctuary city funding story entirely. Both CBS News and the New York Post focused exclusively on Mullin's emergency landing Wednesday after a Coast Guard jet lost its right engine — while ignoring the policy announcement that affects every American taxpayer subsidizing sanctuary jurisdictions. The pilot declared an emergency with 14 souls aboard and landed safely at Reagan National. Mullin praised the crew's professionalism.
The landing incident does raise its own questions about government spending priorities. The C-37A, a military version of a Gulfstream V, is 22 years old and faces "significant avionics and communications obsolescence issues," according to DHS. Last year, then-Secretary Kristi Noem requested replacement aircraft, and the price tag ballooned from roughly $50 million to $200 million for two Gulfstream G700s — prompting scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers who questioned why executive transport should take priority over search-and-rescue aircraft. Standard congressional habit: question the price tag, never question the underlying mission failure at the border that requires all this transport in the first place.
The open question now is whether the administration can legally withhold funds from sanctuary jurisdictions. Courts blocked similar attempts during Trump's first term. This time, the White House says it is building the legal framework first. Whether the follow-through matches the rhetoric — and whether the courts will let the Constitution's supremacy clause work as intended — remains to be seen.
