Politics

Immigrant Advocacy Orgs Silent On If They’ll Help Resettle Illegals In Sanctuary Cities

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Amber Athey Podcast Columnist
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A dozen immigration advocacy organizations either stayed silent or declined to comment Wednesday regarding their willingness to work with the Trump administration resettling illegal immigrants in sanctuary cities.

President Donald Trump revealed last week that he is considering a new proposal to release detained illegal immigrants in sanctuary cities around the country, rather than in border states. While the plan is of questionable legality, it does have political implications for pro-illegal immigration activists who could be seen as hypocrites if they choose not to accept the immigrants into their communities. (RELATED: Does Trump Have The Legal Authority To Resettle Illegals Into Sanctuary Cities?)

Democrats are already fuming over the idea.

“The President is literally using human beings as pawns in a political game,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar tweeted, while Rep. Adam Schiff said the plan is another one of the president’s “dangerously hare-brained schemes.”

However, practically, the plan to drop illegal immigrants who are released from custody into sanctuary cities seems to solve problems on both sides of the aisle: Trump can take some of the heat off border states who are dealing with swelling immigration levels, while Democrats can ostensibly protect illegal immigrants from future deportations by housing them in sanctuaries.

Sanctuary cities enact several policies that make it more difficult for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to deport illegal immigrants, including declining to share the immigration status of detained aliens with federal authorities and ignoring ICE detainer requests on criminal illegals.

The Daily Caller reached out to a dozen organizations who advocate on behalf of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers and asked if they would work with the Trump administration to transport immigrants to sanctuaries. Eleven of the organizations did not respond, while one said they would not comment on the issue.

Here’s the list:

Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project: Did not respond

American Immigration Lawyers Association: Did not respond

Central American Resource Center: Did not respond

Pueblo Sin Fronteras: Did not respond

RAICES: Did not respond

Catholic Legal Immigration Network: “We’re not going to comment on that.”

National Immigration Law Center: Did not respond

Unidos US: Did not respond

Immigrant Legal Resource Center: Did not respond

American Immigration Council: Did not respond

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): Did not respond

National Immigration Project: Did not respond

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