Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott thinks that President Donald Trump may have discussed the possibility of sending illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities as a way to “make everybody crazy.”
“Jake, I don’t know whether it’s legal or illegal,” Scott told CNN host Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” Sunday. “Maybe he’s just saying this to make everybody crazy, make everybody talk about it on their shows. What I do know is I’ve been up there in the Senate for 90 days, we’re not securing our border, not enforcing our laws, you know, sanctuary cities are illegal.” (RELATED: Tucker Explains Democrats’ Reactions To Trump Sanctuary Idea: ‘It Sounds A Little…Racist!’)
“You heard Congressman Nadler say contempt for the law. It’s clearly contempt for the law,” he said. “You don’t get to pick and choose what laws do, and what laws you comply with. What I don’t get to, cities don’t get to. What I don’t get is why don’t we try to solve the problem. We don’t want illegal immigration. We don’t want people coming illegally across our border, we want legal immigration. I’m from a state where we love immigrants, and we want legal immigration, so it’s frustrating to me that we aren’t getting anything done.”
It recently came to light that the Trump administration was actively considering sending illegal immigrants currently housed in detention camps to cities that choose to classify themselves as “sanctuary cities.” One such city was San Francisco, Pelosi’s home district.
The Daily Caller reported that the idea was first drafted by White House advisor Stephen Miller in November when the caravan was first approaching the southern border.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement reportedly rejected the proposal twice, arguing that there were severe budgetary and PR concerns associated with the proposal.
Trump then announced that the plan was still something that he was considering, and tweeted a call for Democrats to change the immigration laws or else he would order immigration officials to carry out the plan.
“Democrats must change the Immigration Laws FAST. If not, Sanctuary Cities must immediately ACT to take care of the Illegal Immigrants – and this includes Gang Members, Drug Dealers, Human Traffickers, and Criminals of all shapes, sizes and kinds. CHANGE THE LAWS NOW!” the president tweeted Saturday.
He sent another tweet that confirmed he believed the proposal was legal, and reiterated that he planned to follow through on the matter.
“Just out: The USA has the absolute legal right to have apprehended illegal immigrants transferred to Sanctuary Cities. We hereby demand that they be taken care of at the highest level, especially by the State of California, which is well known or its poor management & high taxes!” he concluded.
