Texas congresswoman introduces legislation to revoke funding from sanctuary cities

Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, on Wednesday said she introduced legislation that would revoke funding from sanctuary cities, which limit local governments' cooperation with federal authorities to protect illegal migrants. 

"Basically, my bill says if you're a sanctuary city, you're not going to get federal dollars, and we're going to claw back unspent federal dollars of the last five years of your sanctuary city," Van Duyne said on the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show. 

Last month, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration's efforts to cut federal funding for 34 cities due to their sanctuary status. 

The Justice Department appealed the ruling in response. 

Van Duyne also criticized mayors of Democratic-run cities for high rates of crime and for pushing back against President Donald Trump when he said he would send federal authorities to the cities to help with crime. 

"I'm shocked that these city mayors don't want that help," she said. "It's amazing how all they want is cash. You know, they come in and out of our offices all the time—asking for money and for appropriations and more CDBG [Community Development Block Grant] funds. Here you have a president who is allowing them to save face, and you still have them in denial."

Trump confirmed on Tuesday that he planned to send federal forces to Chicago to help crack down on crime in the same manner as he did in Washington, D.C.