A federal judge in San Francisco has blocked President Trump’s executive order that would have withheld federal funds from so-called sanctuary cities.
Trump criticized the decision in a series of tweets, calling it “ridiculous” and a “gift” to criminal gangs.
National security expert Juliette Kayyem joined Boston Public Radio to talk about the judge’s decision and Trump’s response today.
She said it was “the irony of [ironies]” that the administration threatened to remove this form of federal funding from sanctuary cities, because it was designed to protect police officers.
“People don’t remember that Byrne [federal funding grants] was named after a police officer who got killed. It was a way to support the safety and security of our police officers through community policing,” she said. “You’re going to pull these grant fronts from police departments, thereby making them more vulnerable to death.”
Kayyem also criticized the president for falsely accusing the ninth circuit court of blocking the executive order.
“It was a district court doing what district courts do,” she said. “The question before the court appeared to be: would there be an immediate harm, and did the city have an arguable claim? And the answer was yes.”
Kayyem seemed to think the court made the right decision.
“I think any fair reading of the law would say that that there would be a good claim in an appellate court,” she said.
She also noted that the block represents an interesting perspective presented by police departments.
“When police chiefs go against the Republican party as they are, that’s quite remarkable,” said Kayyem.
Juliette Kayyem is the founder of Kayyem Solutions, a WGBH and CNN contributor, and a faculty member of the Kennedy School. To hear her interview in its entirety, click on the audio player above.
