AG Pam Bondi Orders DOJ to Pause All Funding for Sanctuary Cities

Newly inaugurated Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered the defunding of jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities Wednesday — potentially cutting off a significant money source for New York.

Bondi, 59, issued the edict shortly after being sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas at an Oval Office ceremony with President Trump in attendance.

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Both New York’s state government and New York City are sanctuary jurisdictions that do not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in deportation proceedings.

Other sanctuary states include California and Connecticut — while major cities such as Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington, DC, also have such policies.

A relatively small share of funding flows from the Justice Department to New York’s state and local governments, but the declaration could further pinch budgets already tightened to provide housing and services for the surge of migrants who arrived under former President Joe Biden’s more permissive border “parole” policies for asylum seekers.

The memo orders an immediate 60-day pause on distribution of funds — with a report on further steps due to Bondi’s desk within 45 days. Bondi’s order also says the DOJ “shall not enter into any new contract, grant, or other agreement to provide Federal funding to non-governmental organizations that support or provide services, either directly or indirectly (e.g., through sub-contracting or other arrangements), to removable or illegal aliens.”

It’s unclear if the action portends a broader initiative by the Trump administration to use financial leverage to force states and cities to comply with the president’s promised mass deportation of illegal immigrants.

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