U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has threatened to cut the funding of any city not fully cooperating with the Trump administration’s deportation efforts, drawing into question Birmingham’s financial future due to Mayor Randall Woodfin’s recent pronouncements on illegal immigration.
In an interview with Al Sharpton on MSNBC, Woodfin said Birmingham was a “welcoming city” that doesn’t “participate in any administrative dealings as it relates to immigration status” when working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Though Woodfin may talk about Birmingham as a sanctuary city, its lack of formal declaration may keep it from Bondi's chopping block, according to State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur).
“They could be [in trouble], but since there's no formal resolution, no formal documentation … came through the city council, signed by the mayor where they're not officially on record. The mayor is telling the police department, hey, don't help those ICE agents as they come through town, just stand down unless it's a trafficking situation. I think that has to be determined by the Department of Justice,” Orr said last Friday on WVNN’s “The Dale Jackson Show.”
“But to me, on the outside, it's not enough to yank their funding if there's no formal acknowledgment as a sanctuary city,” he added.
Orr said Woodfin likely wants to have it both ways: to appear tough against the Trump administration on immigration while keeping the federal funds flowing.
“They're trying to get their leftist street cred by sounding like a sanctuary city or sound like they're fighting against the Trump administration. But in reality, when it comes to the federal manna, they'll take the manna 10 days out of 10,” he said,
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