President Donald Trump has said his administration will start cutting off federal money to states and cities that resist his immigration policies. This could affect large Democratic-led cities including Mamdani’s New York City, starting February 1. Trump said the funding cuts would not be limited only to individual cities. Instead, entire states that are home to so-called sanctuary cities could also lose federal money.
Trump’s announcement
Trump revealed the plan near the end of a speech at the Detroit Economic Club. He did not explain which specific funds would be stopped or how the policy would be enforced.
“Starting Feb. 1, we’re 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 and it breeds fraud and crime and all of the other problems that come,” he said. “So we’re not making any payment to anybody that supports sanctuary cities.” Later, when reporters asked what kind of funding would be affected, Trump added, “You’ll see. It’ll be significant.”
He also wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday, “Effective february first, no more payments will be made by the federal government to states for their corrupt criminal protection centers known as sanctuary cities. All they do is breed crime and violence! If states want them, they will have to pay for them! Make america great again!!!”
What are ‘sanctuary’ cities?
There is no strict legal definition of a sanctuary city. The term generally refers to cities or local governments that limit their cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. These policies often mean local police do not detain people solely based on immigration status or comply with all federal immigration requests. Mamdani’s NYC has long followed policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Because of this, it would fall under Trump’s definition of a sanctuary city.
Trump’s latest threat goes further than past efforts because it targets states, not just cities. That means funding cuts could hit areas that are not strongly supportive of immigrant protections but happen to be in states with sanctuary policies. This could affect funding for programs related to food assistance, healthcare, childcare, and other services that states rely on federal money to run.
Courts have blocked similar moves before
Trump has tried to cut funding to sanctuary jurisdictions in the past, and courts have repeatedly stopped him. During his first term in 2017, federal courts struck down efforts to deny funding to cities. More recently, a California-based federal judge blocked an executive order that aimed to withhold money from sanctuary jurisdictions, even before the administration had taken concrete action.
In August, another federal judge blocked the administration from cutting funds to more than 30 jurisdictions, including Los Angeles, Baltimore, Boston, and Chicago that refused to cooperate with immigration crackdowns. That ruling only applies to places that joined the lawsuit, which is still ongoing.
Other funding fights already underway
The administration is already facing legal challenges over funding cuts in several areas. US Department of Agriculture has warned states that refused to share data on food assistance recipients that they could lose administrative funds. No money has been stopped yet, but the issue is already in court.
The US Department of Health and Social Services recently tried to halt funds to five Democratic-led states for childcare subsidies and aid to low-income families, citing fraud concerns. A court has temporarily blocked that move.
Minnesota has also been targeted. The Agriculture Department said it was freezing funding there, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it would withhold $515 million every three months from several Medicaid programs. State officials say they are appealing.
What will happen now?
Trump has not explained how the sanctuary city funding cuts would work or which programs would be affected. Given past court rulings, legal challenges are expected quickly if the administration moves forward. For cities like New York City, and political figures such as Mamdani, the threat adds to growing uncertainty over whether federal money could be used as a pressure tool to force changes in immigration policy.