Freshly sworn-in AG Pam Bondi has ordered her Justice Department to pause all federal funding to sanctuary cities obstructing President Trump’s deportation efforts.
Bondi dropped the memo just hours into her new role.
“[T]he Department of Justice will ensure that, consistent with law, ‘sanctuary jurisdictions’ do not receive access to Federal funds from the Department,” Bondi’s first-day memo says.
“Consistent with applicable statutes, regulations, court orders, and terms, the Department of Justice shall pause the distribution of all funds until a review has been completed, terminate any agreements that are in violation of law or are the source of waste, fraud, or abuse, and initiate clawback or recoupment procedures, where appropriate.”
Both New York’s state government and New York City are sanctuary jurisdictions that do not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in deportation proceedings.
Other sanctuary states include California and Connecticut — while major cities such as Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington, DC, also have such policies.
From The New York Post:
A relatively small share of funding flows from the Justice Department to New York’s state and local governments, but the declaration could further pinch budgets already tightened to provide housing and services for the surge of migrants who arrived under former President Joe Biden’s more permissive border “parole” policies for asylum seekers.
The memo orders an immediate 60-day pause on distribution of funds — with a report on further steps due on Bondi’s desk within 45 days. Bondi’s order also says the DOJ “shall not enter into any new contract, grant, or other agreement to provide Federal funding to non-governmental organizations that support or provide services, either directly or indirectly (e.g., through sub-contracting or other arrangements), to removable or illegal aliens.”
It’s unclear if the action portends a broader initiative by the Trump administration to use financial leverage to force states and cities to comply with the president’s promised mass deportation of illegal immigrants.
Bondi was sworn in at the Oval Office on Wednesday by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, with her friends and family in attendance.
President Donald Trump praised Bondi after the ceremony, calling her “unbelievably fair and unbelievably good” and expressing confidence that she will “restore fair and impartial justice” at the department.
“I know I’m supposed to say, ‘She’s going to be totally impartial with respect to Democrats,’” Trump told reporters, “and I think she will be as impartial as a person can be.”
“I will not let you down,” Bondi told Trump, adding, “I will make you proud, and I will make this country proud.”
“I will restore integrity to the Justice Department, and I will fight violent crime throughout this country and throughout this world, and I will make America safe again,” Bondi added.
More over at The New York Post:
AG Pam Bondi orders DOJ to pause all federal funding for sanctuary cities https://t.co/tFt1OAd9lO pic.twitter.com/gpIEin4G1L
— New York Post (@nypost) February 5, 2025
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