Government

When ‘Sanctuary’ Policies Aren’t Enough

Many cities and states have long used "sanctuary" status as a means of resisting Trump's immigration policy. Now, they're floating several new ideas.
Columbia, South Carolina mayor Steve Benjamin traveled with other city leaders to the border Thursday to meet the immigrant children detained in a holding center. They were turned away.Andres Leighton/AP

As the federal narrative around Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy rapidly shifts, and Congress struggles to draft legislation to ensure humane treatment of children and their families at the border, the nation’s mayors and governors are scrambling to take what local action they can.

Last Thursday morning, 19 mayors of large U.S. cities gathered in Tornillo, Texas, hoping to get a glimpse of the 1,500 children being held in a detention facility there, only to be denied access by the Department of Homeland Security.