EXCLUSIVE — Nonsanctuary cities and states could retaliate against sanctuary cities that have shipped out migrants from their streets to Republican-run jurisdictions under a new proposal.
Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT) will debut legislation this week to cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in Federal Emergency Management Agency funding to cities that, overwhelmed with illegal immigrants who have been released into the country from the southern border , have opted to use federal grant money to pay for bus, train, and plane tickets to move migrants to other towns.
“Right now we have migrants showing up at our airports, bus stations, and city halls with no support, services, or sponsors after being dumped by so-called sanctuary cities,” Owens said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner about the Sanctuary City Oversight and Responsibility in Enforcement, or SCORE, Act.
Owens was spurred into action after Salt Lake City received migrants from Denver in June.
Denver, which received nearly $13 million from the Biden administration to help respond to migrants arriving on its streets in 2023 and 2024 , sent some migrants to Salt Lake City without notice. Salt Lake City and Utah haven’t received additional federal money to deal with the impact of the border crisis.