In 2019, former President Donald J. Trump forewarned of an impending disaster resulting from the policies of sanctuary cities, a prediction that appears to be materializing as the United States grapples with an escalating crisis of illegal immigration.
The cities in question, predominantly governed by Democrats, have adopted sanctuary policies that provide a refuge for illegal immigrants seeking asylum, thereby circumventing deportation.
Trump, who is currently leading the GOP pack for the 2024 presidential race, has been a vocal critic of sanctuary cities. He has particularly taken issue with the "insane asylum" policies that, according to him, are exploited by illegal immigrants. Trump cautioned that such policies pave the way for violent criminals to infiltrate the US, asserting that a significant proportion of illegal immigrants claiming asylum are not genuine refugees.
"We're apprehending thousands and thousands of people a day and the law only allows us to hold them, as you know, for 20 days, because of the most ridiculous laws probably we have in this country," Trump stated on April 12, 2019.
He further elaborated, "Whether it's catch and release, or chain migration, or any of them; the asylum laws are absolutely insane. They come up, in many cases they're rough gang members, in many cases they're people with tremendous crime records, and they're given a statement to read by lawyers that stand there waiting for them."
Trump mimicked the instructions given by lawyers to illegal immigrants seeking asylum, "'Read this statement,' and it says, 'I have great fear for my life. I have great fear for being in my country.' Even though in some cases, some of these people are holding their country's flags and waving their country's flags, and then they talk about the fear they have of being in the country, the flag they were waving freely."
Trump also addressed the prevalence of sanctuary cities, suggesting a controversial solution. "So, we'll give them to the sanctuary cities maybe, to take care of, if that's the way they want it, because we can only hold them under the current law for 20 days. We might as well do what they always say they want. We'll bring the illegals ...to sanctuary city areas, and let that particular area take care of it. Whether it's a state or whatever it might be."
He added, "And let's see if they're so happy. They say, 'We have open arms.' They're always saying they have open arms. Let's see if they have open arms."
Trump's prediction appears to be coming true. Since President Biden assumed office in 2021, over 6 million illegal immigrants have crossed into the U.S., largely due to the administration's lax border policies.
Many of these immigrants have sought sanctuary in, or been transported to, Democrat-governed cities such as New York City and Chicago. Both cities are now grappling with a crisis triggered by illegal immigration. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has declared a state of emergency and called for the revocation of the city's sanctuary status. Meanwhile, Chicago's Mayor, Brandon Johnson, has reportedly been hospitalized due to panic attacks triggered by the crisis.
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