Washington threatens funding cut to California, other 'sanctuary' areas

[OKIsItJustMe]

Source: Reuters

The U.S. Department of Justice threatened on Friday to cut off funding to California as well as eight cities and counties across the United States, escalating a Trump administration crackdown on so-called sanctuary cities that do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

President Donald Trump has vowed to cut off federal funds to dozens of state and local governments that do not fully cooperate with federal immigration agents, arguing that they are putting public safety at risk when they do not hand over illegal immigrants suspected of crime for possible deportation.

"Sanctuary cities" in general offer safe harbor to illegal immigrants and often do not use municipal funds or resources to advance the enforcement of federal immigration laws.

…

Those threatened include: the state of California; New York City; Chicago; Philadelphia; Clark County, Nevada; New Orleans; Miami Dade County, Florida, and Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Cook County, Illinois also received a warning, even though it did not get money from the Justice Department last year.

…

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-sanctuary-idUSKBN17N2JA

[NurseJackie]

1. Is that even legal to do?

[yuiyoshida]

2. Let them try

California and Jerry Brown will handle it. Watch what happens when California cuts the federal off its funds, lets see them make that amount up some where.

[itsrobert]

4. Not sure how federal income taxes paid by Californians to the IRS

can be stopped by the state.

[yuiyoshida]

5. California has a lot of extra funding that goes to the fed

some of that funding can be stopped as its optional.

[golfguru]

24. If CA does not pay federal taxes,

it probably violates existing law. A better method would be to get the laws changed by electing right people in congress. If one law is broken, somebody else could break another law which we favor.

[OKIsItJustMe]

36. Californians tend to have higher incomes than other Americans

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_income

So, the median individual Californian pays higher federal income taxes than the median American. However, California also also has the largest population, so, while the average resident of the District of Columbia (for example) pays higher taxes than the average Californian, since there are many more Californians, the state (as a whole) pays a larger amount to the federal government than the District of Columbia does.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_tax_revenue_by_state

Because of its size, California also has the largest total federal spending.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_taxation_and_spending_by_state#Federal_spending_by_state_as_of_FY_2013

However, yes, Californians pay more into the federal government than the state gets back.

Our system of taxation is somewhat progressive, where the wealthy pay more taxes and the poor receive more support. As a result, the citizens of states like California and New York tend to support the citizens in states with lower incomes.

[ck4829]

18. I'm sure there's a way - No taxation without representation!

[CreekDog]

8. No, California can't hold off federal funds --teachable moment here

California doesn't pay those taxes directly.

[yuiyoshida]

10. There are other funds...

I know I read it on DU somewhere, that California pays more than its fair share to the Feds...

[CreekDog]

32. what are these funds?

how much do they amount to and who controls them?

[kysrsoze]

29. We can stop selling the estimated 50% of all U.S. food California grows to D.C. and red states

and sell it overseas, and to blue states.

[CreekDog]

33. i don't think you have any idea how do actually do that

i don't think you've thought out if it's possible, nor thought out any workable way to do it.

and i don't think you've figured out why not sending food to Washington DC's mostly African American population is going to help California (yes, just a rather small part of DC's population are congresspeople and folks that run the White House).

[wasupaloopa]

3. What if we decide to hold off funds we send to a Washington?

I think we Californians pay in more than we get back

[Thinkingabout]

7. Agree, more leaves California than returns, if California feels Trumps golfing

Trips is a waste of money then dont sent in the funds.

[CreekDog]

9. Are you nuts? You're gonna stop paying your taxes?

Your employer is going to stop paying theirs?

Seriously?

You're saying it so blithely, that I suspect it's because you don't even understand how this works and what it entails.

[ck4829]

20. We pay our taxes - So when are Trump, McConnell, and Ryan going to begin representing the people?

Supposed to be an exchange here, more and more people aren't seeing it go through.

[golfguru]

25. Get out and vote Trump, McConnell & Ryan out of office!

and elect people who favor our agenda. In our system, we elect by majority in each jurisdiction. Once they win an election, they have the power to pass whatever laws they desire. That is how a democratic country works.

[Stonepounder]

28. I've been trying for 20 years (with a 2-year hiatus) to vote McConnell out of office! n/t

[Eliot Rosewater]

6. This no good fucking treasonous prick will do everything in his power to harm

as many Americans as he can, that is his agenda.

He works for Putin, Exxon and Trump enterprises and NOBODY else.

[Yupster]

11. If you look at the dollars involved in these grants, it's tiny

For some of the cities, it's less than a million bucks.

Not much of a threat.

[HockeyMom]

12. Trump Tower. Sorry, Mr. President, we are not footing the bill

for your Summer White House.

[Judi Lynn]

16. Extreme luxuries should not be part of the deal when a President is elected.

It must be stopped while this scum is still in Washington, not postponed.

He should have had too much honor to demand such spending for himself. He needs to be helped to see the light.

[stuffmatters]

21. Or supporting county,state services/resources @ Trump's Golf Club in Palos Verdes (L.A. County)

Why should Californians pay a dime to support any Trump property...especially one of Trump's resource guzzling, flagship playgrounds for fellow .01% Repugs.. .

[defacto7]

22. Could CA or other states impound or claim

trump properties? It may be private property but it's only as private as the state/counties are satisfied with the taxes debts or laws of the state.

[stuffmatters]

30. Good idea, investigate for money laundering on his fsbo PV lots & unleash Trump's tax returns

The Ca Franchise Tax Board is more relentless than the IRS, and state returns are based on fed returns, So open sesame.
And, as we're learning daily, Trump real estate seems to longtime global conduit for money laundering and "selling" EB-5 US visas.

With all Trump's past and present nefariousness, he's going to be sorry he messed with Ca.

[still_one]

13. If trump follows through on this it will go to the SC. I don't think anyone can predict how they

would decide even with gorsuch

I gotta tell you thought, this sure sounds like echos of nazi Germany

[Javaman]

14. the orange menace wants to play chicken with California? fine...

tRump cuts off funding, California cuts off food produce.

lack of food always ALWAYS beats lack of money.

[C Moon]

15. The Divider

[BumRushDaShow]

17. Here in Philly, ICE had egg all over their faces after producing faulty "lists"

of undocumented immigrant criminals they claimed the city (and other cities they targeted) were harboring.

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2017-03-21/cities-sheriffs-find-flaws-in-us-immigration-detainer-list

Last I heard the lists (IIRC there were 2 sets sent out) were withdrawn and ICE was supposed to work on correcting all the errors and faulty data.

[Augiedog]

19. The places where a threat like this would work is southern republican (read Confederate) States.

They have always taken more federal money than what they pay in taxes. They are a bunch of welfare moochers pretending they are some how entitled to the largesse of actual wealth producing regions of America. And they are entitled, otherwise they would starve, have even worse schools than they already do and wouldnt have medical technology that didn't involve throwing bones against a wall.

You will not see these areas claiming sanctuary for any oppressed anyone, they are happy to be patriotically throwing everybody they don't like out of the country. And it won't stop with undocumented people, next it will be religion based, then it will color, then it will be the "intellectuals" and on and on it will go.

[duncang]

23. Dipshit donnie's idea of

cooperation is the local police becoming full time ICE agents and not doing the job they were hired for.

[KingCharlemagne]

34. Los Angeleno here. I've actually asked my City Councilperson Mike Bonin

(through his staffers) to direct the LAPD to arrest any federal ICE agent operating in Los Angeles who kidnaps anyone without a duly authorized arrest warrant. So far, Bonin hasn't been willing to go that far. ICE is no longer welcome in our city. They truly are "enemies of the people" now (in the sense that LA is now majority Latino).

[hunter]

26. Ordinary cops on the street cooperating with people who threaten them?

I've never heard of such a thing.

If ICE is frustrated with certain uncooperative police departments now, they'd better prepare themselves for worse.

[KingCharlemagne]

35. +Infinity. See my Reply #34 upthread for a more specific iteration of your

idea.

[MichMan]

27. I recall the Feds threatening states with losing highway funds

I recall the Federal government many years ago threatening states by withholding highway funding if the states did not lower the speed limit to 55 mph in 1974. This was ruled constitutional under the Commerce Clause in 1989 when Nevada sued the Transportation Secretary

[More_Cowbell]

31. Good article about this by Mother Jones

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/02/trump-california-defund-sanctuary-city-tenth-amendment

There are different arguments; here's one part:

"When the Supreme Court ruled on the constitutionality of Obamacare in 2012, it also considered the law's expansion of state Medicaid programs. The Affordable Care Act had threatened to cut off all Medicaid funding to states should they fail to expand the program in accordance with its standards. Citing South Dakota v. Dole, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in his opinion that this ultimatum was "a gun to the head" of the states. For many states, federal Medicaid money comprises more than 10 percent of total revenue, and losing that money would effectively cripple them. Six other justices agreed with Roberts on this point, and Medicaid expansion was left to the states."

[Portland_Anni]

37. This dysfunctional and malignant administration promotes White Supremacy, not good policing

and cooperation with local and state governments. This ridiculous carrot or stick crap will ultimately cost them more than they could possibly gain with it.

[jpak]

38. Well then, NYC should pull ALL of NY's Finest off Trump Tower guard duty

same for other sanctuary cities.

yup

[Sgent]

39. I wonder if the Obamacare precedent is going to bite them in the ass

The SCOTUS ruled that states couldn't be forced to expand Medicaid and the stick was unconstitutional. The stick then was that the states would lose their existing Medicaid funding.

[Greensix1]

40. Keep my taxes in CA

The Feds cut off CA from funds? Fine. I'll stop paying Federal income tax and give a like amount to CA. California pays way more than their fair share of the federal tax burden. Let Alabama and Mississippi make up for what CA had paid and let's see what happens to the federal budget. CA should get every dollar it pays in federal tax dollars returned to it in federal expenditures. Let the Republican states pay their own damned way.