Rep. Jerry Nadler Says Donald Trump's Proposal to Overwhelm Sanctuary Cities Is 'Morally Repugnant and Probably Illegal"

New York Congressman Jerry Nadler, a Democrat who represents parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn, called President Donald Trump's proposal to bus immigrant families to sanctuary cities "morally repugnant" and likely "illegal."

As part of a plan to force Democrats to enforce more strict immigration laws, Trump threatened to engulf sanctuary cities with undocumented immigrants, sending them by bus.

"What the President is talking about here is spending taxpayer dollars to use immigrant families — mothers, fathers and young children — as pawns for political retribution. This is both morally repugnant and probably illegal," Nadler tweeted Friday afternoon.

What the President is talking about here is spending taxpayer dollars to use immigrant families—mothers, fathers and young children—as pawns for political retribution. This is both morally repugnant and probably illegal. https://t.co/6l3PgF2eg8

— Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) April 12, 2019

Nadler, who has served the House of Representatives since 1992, is Chair of the House Judiciary Committee. Nadler's home base of New York City is a designated sanctuary city, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.

Sanctuary cities, counties and states are designated locales that have laws and regulations that shield undocumented immigrants from being detained, incarcerated or removed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Here is a map of the sanctuary cities in the U.S.

Trump earlier tweeted that relocating undocumented immigrants to sanctuary cities would make the "radical left" happy.

"The Radical Left always seems to have an Open Borders, Open Arms policy – so this should make them very happy!," he said.

....The Radical Left always seems to have an Open Borders, Open Arms policy – so this should make them very happy!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 12, 2019

White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said Friday that Democrats who believe undocumented immigrants have a right to be in the United States should find ways to get them into their own communities.

"Democrats say we must have open borders and that illegal immigrants have a right to be in this country at all costs," Gidley said told The New York Times. "So they should be working with the administration to find the best ways to transport those illegal aliens that are already set for release, into communities in their districts and states."

Nadler, who has been one of the top Democrats in Washington pushing for a full release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report into possible collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia, has feuded with Trump for more than 30 years, according to Rolling Stone magazine.

Other lawmakers came out to speak against the president's call to move immigrants to sanctuary cities, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who represents San Francisco, another sanctuary city for immigrants.

"I don't know anything about it, but again, it's just another notion that is unworthy of the presidency of the United States and disrespectful of the challenges that we face as a county, as a people, to address who we are: a nation of immigrants," Pelosi said Friday according to The Hill.

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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