This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/19/donald-trump-liberal-cities-states-resistance
The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
Next version
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| How liberal leaders in cities and states across US are planning to thwart Trump | How liberal leaders in cities and states across US are planning to thwart Trump |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Donald Trump has made a number of pledges about the drastic actions he might take as president. But even before he has been sworn in, many liberal city and state leaders have made moves to thwart some of those actions’ effects. | Donald Trump has made a number of pledges about the drastic actions he might take as president. But even before he has been sworn in, many liberal city and state leaders have made moves to thwart some of those actions’ effects. |
| Made it harder to repeal the Affordable Care Act | Made it harder to repeal the Affordable Care Act |
| New York City’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, has emerged as one of the most vocal opponents of Trump’s presidency. During a speech in November, he outlined several ways in which he planned to oppose Trump’s key campaign promises if the incoming president follows through with them. | |
| The city has pledged to sign 50,000 people up for health insurance by the end of 2017 to make it more difficult for Trump and the Republican Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act. “The more and more Americans who sign up for the ACA, the harder it is to take away,” De Blasio said. The push will cost the city $8m. | |
| Vowed not to comply with a Muslim registry | Vowed not to comply with a Muslim registry |
| Trump flirted with the idea of a establishing a database of Muslims during the campaign. Although he has distanced himself from it since his victory, the rhetoric and history of some of Trump’s transition team have left many concerned that it is still a possibility. Some mayors have unequivocally said they would block any attempts to establish a registry. | |
| De Blasio said the city would take legal action if Muslims are required to register. Speaking at an Islamic center on Friday, San Francisco’s mayor, Ed Lee, said he was “100% opposed to any registry that identifies anyone because of their religion or race”, which he compared to Japanese internment camps. | |
| Mayor Jorge Elorza of Providence established a Muslim American advisory board to protect the demographic following Trump’s victory, saying he was concerned about the president-elect’s rhetoric during the campaign. | |
| Committed to remain sanctuary cities | Committed to remain sanctuary cities |
| In his speech at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in October, Trump said he would cut federal funding on his first day in office to so-called sanctuary cities. While there is no formal legal designation for “sanctuary cities”, the term usually refers to cities in which local officials do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts that could lead to deportation. According to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, there are more than 500 counties and cities that do not assist US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. | In his speech at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in October, Trump said he would cut federal funding on his first day in office to so-called sanctuary cities. While there is no formal legal designation for “sanctuary cities”, the term usually refers to cities in which local officials do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts that could lead to deportation. According to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, there are more than 500 counties and cities that do not assist US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. |
| After Trump’s victory, mayors across the US have attempted to calm the nerves of undocumented immigrants by pledging to remain sanctuary cities, with or without federal funding. | After Trump’s victory, mayors across the US have attempted to calm the nerves of undocumented immigrants by pledging to remain sanctuary cities, with or without federal funding. |
| San Francisco receives about $1bn from the federal government, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, and while it is unlikely to lose all or even most of that, a cut could place a significant burden on the city. “Being a sanctuary city, for me, is the DNA of San Francisco,” Lee said during a news conference. “We’ll always be a sanctuary city.” | San Francisco receives about $1bn from the federal government, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, and while it is unlikely to lose all or even most of that, a cut could place a significant burden on the city. “Being a sanctuary city, for me, is the DNA of San Francisco,” Lee said during a news conference. “We’ll always be a sanctuary city.” |
| Boston’s mayor, Marty Walsh, said that losing the $250m in annual federal funding would be “disastrous”, but he has vowed to protect undocumented people in the city. | Boston’s mayor, Marty Walsh, said that losing the $250m in annual federal funding would be “disastrous”, but he has vowed to protect undocumented people in the city. |
| “We will push back,” Walsh said, according to the Boston Globe. “I’ll go to Congress. I’ll go to the Senate. I’ll go to the president and tell him the disruption he’s going to cause to the country.” | “We will push back,” Walsh said, according to the Boston Globe. “I’ll go to Congress. I’ll go to the Senate. I’ll go to the president and tell him the disruption he’s going to cause to the country.” |
| Highlighted economic benefits of Obama’s immigration policy | Highlighted economic benefits of Obama’s immigration policy |
| Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago met Trump at Trump Tower in December and delivered to him a letter co-signed by 14 mayors, in which they outlined the adverse economic impact of eliminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (Daca). The program was introduced by Obama to protect undocumented people who came to the US as children. | |
| De Blasio has also been pushing a wider coalition of mayors to work together to combat Trump on issues such as immigration. | De Blasio has also been pushing a wider coalition of mayors to work together to combat Trump on issues such as immigration. |
| Vowed to protect city databases from Trump administration | Vowed to protect city databases from Trump administration |
| New York’s De Blasio launched the country’s largest municipal ID program in 2015 to give undocumented immigrants access to more services. But in the wake of Trump’s presidency, fears have emerged that the information provided to the program could be used to identify undocumented immigrants. De Blasio has pledged to not give any information to the federal government and is even considering destroying the database. | |
| Funded lawyers to defend immigrants in deportation cases | Funded lawyers to defend immigrants in deportation cases |
| Several major cities and states have gone what some officials have dubbed “beyond sanctuary” and committed to fund lawyers to defend immigrants facing deportation. In late November 2016, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York announced a public-private legal defense fund to “ensure all immigrants, regardless of status, have access to representation”. In the weeks that followed, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington DC also announced plans not just to fund lawyers for immigrants’ deportation cases, but also to provide legal information and advice. | |
| Washington’s program will help to prepare asylum applications, provide legal representation, and even help immigrants to renew and file lawsuits relating to Daca. | |
| Gearing up for legal battles | Gearing up for legal battles |
| Looking to the next four years under the Trump administration, several attorney generals, including New York’s Eric Schneiderman and Massachusetts’ Maura Healey, have started investigations into Trump. And Healey has fundraised on her willingness to take Donald Trump to court over any unconstitutional policies. | |
| California lawmakers took their plans a step further. Democrats in the California legislature hired Eric Holder, a former US attorney general under Obama, to serve as their lawyer in court battles against Trump.. “With the upcoming change in administrations, we expect that there will be extraordinary challenges for California in the uncertain times ahead,” the Democratic senate president pro tempore, Kevin de León, and assembly speaker, Anthony Rendon, said in a statement. | California lawmakers took their plans a step further. Democrats in the California legislature hired Eric Holder, a former US attorney general under Obama, to serve as their lawyer in court battles against Trump.. “With the upcoming change in administrations, we expect that there will be extraordinary challenges for California in the uncertain times ahead,” the Democratic senate president pro tempore, Kevin de León, and assembly speaker, Anthony Rendon, said in a statement. |
| California’s attorney general pick is also ready for a fight. “You will find me being as aggressive as possible working with all of you to figure out ways that we can make sure there is no federal intrusion in areas that are really left to the state in the US constitution,” former congressman Xavier Becerra, chosen to be California’s next attorney general, told a state assembly panel on Tuesday. | |
| Pledged to continue fight against climate change | Pledged to continue fight against climate change |
| In response to Trump’s appointment of a cabinet full of climate change deniers and skeptics, several lawmakers have vowed to take the fight against climate change to the local level. | In response to Trump’s appointment of a cabinet full of climate change deniers and skeptics, several lawmakers have vowed to take the fight against climate change to the local level. |
| Governor Jerry Brown wants California to become the center for climate change research in the absence of federal interest. | Governor Jerry Brown wants California to become the center for climate change research in the absence of federal interest. |
| “Whatever Washington thinks they are doing, California is the future,” he said at the American Geophysical Union Conference in San Francisco in December. “If Trump turns off the satellites, California will launch its own damn satellite … We’re going to collect that data.” | “Whatever Washington thinks they are doing, California is the future,” he said at the American Geophysical Union Conference in San Francisco in December. “If Trump turns off the satellites, California will launch its own damn satellite … We’re going to collect that data.” |
| Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles authored an open letter to Trump signed by 62 mayors that called on him to help with local efforts to fight climate change. | Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles authored an open letter to Trump signed by 62 mayors that called on him to help with local efforts to fight climate change. |
| In an interview with the Guardian, the outgoing Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Gina McCarthy, pointed to local action as reassurance that climate change prevention would occur in the US even under Trump. | In an interview with the Guardian, the outgoing Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Gina McCarthy, pointed to local action as reassurance that climate change prevention would occur in the US even under Trump. |
| “Cities are making changes, local communities are taking action, there’s continued investment from the business community,” she said. “They will continue to step up and there’s no way these people will be put in a bubble during this administration.” | “Cities are making changes, local communities are taking action, there’s continued investment from the business community,” she said. “They will continue to step up and there’s no way these people will be put in a bubble during this administration.” |
Previous version
1
Next version