Trump threatens funding for sanctuary cities, states
Also confronts heckler during event in Michigan
By: Josey Garrison
USA Today
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump vowed to withhold federal funds from so-called sanctuary cities and states that defy immigration enforcement, and during a tour of Ford's F-150 plant in Dearborn, Michigan, he responded to a heckler with a middle finger and an expletive.
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During a January 13 [2026] speech to the Detroit Economic Club in Michigan. Trump said that his administration won't make "may payments to sanctuary cities or states having cities" starting on February 1, [2026] because they do everything possible to protect criminals at the expense of American citizens."
..... The move comes as Trump defends his administration's aggressive immigration enforcement amid protests that mobilized after a woman was shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement agent on January 7 [2026] in Minneapolis.
..... The Justice Department has designated 11 states,as well as the district of Columbia, as "sanctuary jurisdictions": California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Ten of the 11 states have Democratic governors.
..... Eighteen cities are considered "sanctuary jurisdictions" by the Justice Department, including New York City; Chicago; Sam Francisco; New Orleans; Denver; and Portland Oregon.
..... Trump could face legal hurdles in his effort to punish sanctuary cities as a federal judge in San Francisco blocked the administration from withholding federal funding from 16 sanctuary jurisdictions in April 2025.
..... There's no legal definition of a sanctuary jurisdiction, but the Justice Department said it considered things like failure to collaborate with ICE agents, providing government benefits to undocumented immigrants, or refusing to share immigration information about jail detainees.
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In August 2025. Attorney General Pam Bondi singled out sanctuary jurisdictions across the country and threatened litigation, writing in a statement that, "Sanctuary policies impede law enforcement and put American citizens at risk by design," The Trump administration promptly filed lawsuits targeting immigration policies in Minnesota, New York City, and other jurisdictions.
..... Meanwhile, during a tour of the Ford F-150 assembly facility in Dearborn, Trump gave the middle finger to a heckler and mouthed "(expletive) you" in a response the White House described as "appropriate and unambiguous."
..... A worker on the plant floor shouted what sounded like "pedophile protector" as Trump stood on an elevated walkway, Reuters reported the video as showing. Trump turned toward the person and appeared to respond with an explicative before making a gesture with his middle finger as he walked off.
..... The entertainment site TMZ first published video capturing the exchange, and the White House did not dispute its authenticity to USA Today.
..... The Washington Post reported that the autoworker who interacted with Trump was later suspended from his job pending an investigation. He told the newspaper that he was referencing the Jeffrey Epstein probe.
..... Other Ford employees cheered and welcome the president as he toured the assembly line, taking photos with workers and shaking hands.
..... CNN quoted Ford's Executive Director of Corporate Communications David Tovar as saying, "We've seen the clip you're referring to. One of our core values is respect and we don't condone anyone saying anything inappropriate like that within our facilities. When that happens, we have a process to deal with it but we don't get into specific personnel matters."
..... Contributing: Michelle Deal-Zimmerman and Trevor Hughes, USA Today; Reuters