NYC mayor: DOJ launching ‘racist assault’ on sanctuary cities

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said Wednesday he is skipping a meeting with President Trump and dozens of other mayors at the White House after the Justice Department threatened to subpoena sanctuary cities. 

“I will NOT be attending today’s meeting at the White House after @realDonaldTrump’s Department of Justice decided to renew their racist assault on our immigrants communities,” de Blasio tweeted.

I will NOT be attending today’s meeting at the White House after @realDonaldTrump’s Department of Justice decided to renew their racist assault on our immigrant communities. It doesn’t make us safer and it violates America’s core values.

— Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) January 24, 2018

New York City was among the 23 municipalities to receive a letter Wednesday from the Justice Department that requested documents to show if local law enforcement are sharing information with federal immigration authorities. 

The DOJ threatened to issue subpoenas if those jurisdictions failed to cooperate.

Those so-called sanctuary cities don’t require local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration law. The Trump administration has spoken out against such municipalities, and threatened to withhold funding. A federal judge ruled that an executive order withholding the money was  unconstitutional.

De Blasio has been a vocal critic of Trump and his policies. Despite visits to Iowa in recent months, de Blasio has maintained he is not going to launch a presidential campaign for the Democratic nomination in 2020.

Trump was scheduled to meet Wednesday afternoon with more than 100 mayors from around the country. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu also said he would not attend the meeting under “false pretenses,” citing the Justice Department’s letter.