Category: Sanctuary cities
Why ICE Exists
On January 28, 2026, the United States Department of Homeland Security released a short video honoring the life of Megan…
The sanctuary city playbook is spreading in red states
I live in a community that, not long ago, was a quiet town outside Austin — one of many places people fled in search of safety, order, and a better quality of life. Today, that same community is rapidly transforming into the very version of Austin many residents hoped to escape.
Growth isn’t the problem. Ideology is.
My community is changing, not because it is growing, but because it is abandoning the principles that once made it worth building a life here.
A dangerous idea has taken hold in America: that enforcing the law is immoral, that accountability is cruelty, and that penalizing criminal behavior matters less than protecting the feelings of those who violate the law.
This worldview didn’t emerge organically. Institutions taught it, activists repeated it, and public officials normalized it until many Americans came to believe the humane response to disorder is deliberate blindness.
Last week, that ideology went on full display in my town.
Federal immigration authorities conducted targeted enforcement operations in the area. Homeland Security professionals carried out lawful, focused actions while doing the job Congress — and the American people — have repeatedly mandated that they do.
Within hours, local social media erupted. Facebook groups, Instagram accounts, and self-styled “community leaders” posted warnings about ICE. Progressive elected officials piled on, condemning the operation and circulating tips on how to avoid federal law enforcement. Some encouraged demonstrations near ICE activity to “drive them out.” Others urged residents to honk at ICE vehicles to alert everyone nearby to the supposed “danger.”
Many Americans shrug this off as routine political theater. What followed was worse.
RELATED: Why ‘anti-ICE protesters’ are useful, delusional idiots
Tim Evans/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Instead of standing firmly behind the rule of law, our local government and law enforcement agencies rushed to distance themselves — not out of principle, but out of fear. City social media accounts quickly clarified that ICE had merely notified the city of a vehicle parked near City Hall and that the city neither supported nor assisted the operation.
The message was unmistakable: Don’t blame us.
Screenshot/City of Buda/X.com
Even more disheartening, the police department issued its own statement emphasizing that it was not cooperating with ICE enforcement activities, noting only that officers responded alongside an ambulance.
Again, the message was clear: We want no part of this.
Screenshot/Kyle Police Department/X.com
This didn’t happen in Minnesota or Illinois. It happened in Texas — a state known nationwide for being tough on crime and historically supportive of immigration enforcement.
It happened just miles from our state Capitol. Yet even here, local entities openly refuse to cooperate with the mandate Americans have repeatedly voted for: enforcing our immigration laws.
In doing so, these institutions accomplished two things — neither defensible.
First, they publicly disavowed the enforcement of federal law, as though lawful authority were something shameful.
Second, they compromised operational security by broadcasting where law enforcement was present and what it was — or was not — doing. In any other context, that would be recognized as reckless. Here, activists applauded it.
Texas leaders should treat this as a warning.
State government must hold every jurisdiction accountable for never becoming a sanctuary — whether by statute or by practice — for illegal immigration and criminal activity. The Texas legislature took a critical step by passing legislation requiring most county sheriffs’ departments to participate in ICE’s 287(g) program. That built a foundation. We need more.
Texas should require all local law enforcement agencies to enter the 287(g) program that best fits their department and to publicly commit to enforcing the law. Accountability cannot stop at county lines. It cannot become optional based on online outrage and activist pressure.
RELATED: Illegal-alien patients drain Texas hospitals, racking up billion-dollar bill — in less than a year
Photo by: John Lazenby/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Just one year ago, the country was overwhelmed daily by mass illegal border crossings. The effort to restore control through lawful enforcement and deportation has only begun. Texas will never address the scale of the problem if cities — especially in red states — can refuse responsibility and pass the buck.
A society cannot function if enforcing the law is treated as oppression and breaking it is reframed as victimhood. Compassion doesn’t require chaos. Justice can’t survive if the people tasked with upholding it feel compelled to apologize for doing their jobs.
My community is changing, not because it is growing, but because it is abandoning the principles that once made it worth building a life here. If we keep going down this path — where enforcing the law becomes controversial and officials fear activists more than disorder — we should not act surprised when the place we moved to becomes indistinguishable from the place we left.
Trump says he will cut federal funds to sanctuary cities and states — beginning in 3 weeks
President Donald Trump said that he would seek to end federal funds to sanctuary cities and those states that have sanctuary cities by the beginning of February.
Trump made the comments during an address at the Detroit Economic Club, where he also advocated cutting credit card interest rates to a maximum of 10%.
‘It breeds fraud and crime and all of the other problems that come, so we’re not making any payment to anybody that supports sanctuary cities.’
“Starting February 1, we are not making any payments to sanctuary cities or states having sanctuary cities because they do everything possible to protect criminals at the expense of American citizens,” the president said.
“It breeds fraud and crime and all of the other problems that come, so we’re not making any payment to anybody that supports sanctuary cities,” he added.
When asked to elaborate on the decision, he offered no further details.
“You’ll see,” Trump said. “It’ll be significant.”
The Department of Justice had previously identified 11 states they considered to be sanctuary states that included California, New York, and Connecticut.
Trump has tried to cut federal funds twice before but was blocked by judges’ rulings in both instances. In early January, he tried to cut $10 billion from child-care services but was blocked by a New York judge. In October, he cut almost $8 billion of funding from states that voted for Kamala Harris, but that effort was blocked by a Washington, D.C., judge.
He also touted his record on the economy during the speech.
“Growth is exploding, productivity is soaring, investment is booming, incomes are rising. Inflation is defeated,” Trump said.
RELATED: Faith leaders organize ‘underground railroad’ to hide illegal aliens from Trump deportations
New York Immigration Coalition president Murad Awawdeh released a statement condemning the president’s decision against sanctuary cities.
“Punishing states and cities that refuse to participate in the federal government’s inhumane and cruel attacks on immigrants is simply a playground bullying tactic. New York’s hardworking families, children, and elderly will pay the price if Trump gets his way,” Awawdeh wrote.
“Federal funding belongs to us all, as part of our government’s responsibility to ensure needs like healthcare, education, infrastructure, and public safety are met,” he added. “We expect New York City and other sanctuary jurisdictions to call this bully’s bluff by litigating this egregious violation of our City and State’s 10th Amendment rights and the federal government’s responsibility to provide essential services to all counties, cities and states.”
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Chicago school district lets children ditch class over ICE fears: Report
A school district in a Democratic-led sanctuary city has reportedly implemented an attendance policy that allows illegal immigrant students to skip school due to fears of federal immigration enforcement.
Chicago Public Schools students can be marked as “excused” from class if their parents or guardians express fears about immigration operations, according to a document obtained by Defending Education and reviewed by Fox News Digital.
‘CPS should not be turning attendance policy into a sanctuary immigration tool.’
The document, titled “Chicago Public Schools’ Attendance Coding for Safety Concerns Related to Federal Representative Activity,” states that the district is “fully committed” to providing children a safe learning environment, adding that it “has strong protections and protocols in place to protect our students and staff.”
CPS highlighted a November 2024 resolution from the Chicago Board of Education, stating that “while these protections and procedures are related to immigration enforcement, they apply to interactions with all federal agents and representatives, including the National Guard.”
The district explains that, as part of its commitment to “Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance,” it does not ask about immigration status and will not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
RELATED: Anti-ICE mob turns hostile, breaching barriers outside detention facility — several officers injured
Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Under a section labeled “Attendance Guidance,” the CPS document reads, “If a parent/guardian reports an absence and attributes it to fear of federal representative-related procedures, schools CAN excuse the absence under ‘concern for student health and safety.'”
When filling out an excused absence request, parents are instructed not to provide any additional information about the absence other than indicating a “concern for student health and safety” to protect the family’s “confidentiality.”
The district states that it does not set a time limit for how long this reason for absence may be used.
If a parent or guardian has been “impacted by federal representative-related procedures,” they can appoint a short-term guardian who can request an excused absence on behalf of the student.
Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Students are similarly permitted to arrive late or leave early to “avoid official start and dismissal times wherein federal representatives may be present,” the document adds.
Additionally, the district reportedly allows students one excused absence “to engage in a civic event,” such as a demonstration or protest.
While the Illinois State Board of Education does not currently permit students to participate in a hybrid or remote option, CPS states that if this policy changes, it will provide updated information.
“Chicago Public Schools is effectively telling families that fear of federal law enforcement is a standing excuse to keep children out of class with no time limit and no paper trail,” Kendall Tietz, an investigative reporter at Defending Education, told Fox News Digital. “CPS should not be turning attendance policy into a sanctuary immigration tool. Instead, public schools should be focused on getting kids to school and keeping accurate records, not quietly encouraging truancy and obstructing cooperation with federal authorities. This policy undermines both student learning and the rule of law.”
CPS did not respond to a request for comment.
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