NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Nashville officials are pushing to adopt sanctuary city-like standards in response to President Donald Trump’s policies on immigration.
Metro Councilmen Bob Mendes and Colby Sledge were surrounded by immigrants, some of whom are in the country illegally, as they made a case for their legislation Wednesday during a news conference in the liberal-leaning capital of Tennessee, a red Southern state.
Mendes said the policy change has to strike a balance, and contends that it would not qualify Nashville as a sanctuary city under the U.S. Department of Justice.
“It’s such a powerful, moral obligation that we feel to make all our neighbors feel as safe here as possible,” Mendes said. “But we have to do it in the context of what is state law and what is federal law.”
President Donald Trump issued an executive order to cut funding from sanctuary cities that limit cooperation with U.S. immigration authorities, only to have a judge block the effort. Trump has asked the judge to reconsider. At the state level, potential candidates in the 2018 governor’s race have said cities should be punished if they don’t cooperate with federal immigration officials.