Trump Signs EO to Protect Cops and Turn Up Heat on Sanctuary Cities

As President Donald Trump continues his no-holds-barred war on illegal immigration, he has scheduled to sign an executive order (EO) that is designed to give law enforcement more power to crack down on migrants in so-called “sanctuary cities.”

According to the White House, the EO will “overhaul policies” that Trump says hamstring police and prevent the mass deportation of illegal immigrants.

The bucket of seven major reforms, outlined in an administration document, includes instructing the Justice Department to “create a mechanism to provide legal resources and indemnification for officers facing unjust expenses from official duties, including pro bono assistance.”

The order also seeks to “increase surplus military assets for local law enforcement” — which Democratic administrations have curtailed — and calls for authorities to “pursue legal action against state or local officials obstructing criminal or immigration law enforcement” in an apparent initiative against “sanctuary” jurisdictions.

The executive order additionally calls for a review of “federal consent decrees, out-of-court agreements, and post-judgment orders that hinder law enforcement, and make modifications as needed” — which could have a major impact on cities across the country where police were found to have engaged in a pattern of racial discrimination.

Other reforms envisioned in the document include ensuring that racial discrimination probes focus on “direct evidence, not statistical disparities,” broadly ordering more federal resources to support police officers, and focusing federal prosecutions on “violent crimes, drug trafficking, and recidivists with illegal firearms.”