Detroit, Michigan - President Donald Trump said he would withhold billions of dollars in federal funding from so-called "sanctuary" cities and states in the US.

"Starting February 1, we're not making any payments to sanctuary cities or states having sanctuary cities because they do everything possible to protect criminals," Trump said during a speech at the Detroit Economic Club Tuesday.

"It breeds fraud, crime, and all of the other problems that come," he claimed. "So we're not making any payment to anyone who supports sanctuary cities."

A document published by the Department of Justice in August 2025 identified 12 states, including California, New York, and Illinois, as hosting sanctuary cities, which have a policy of not cooperating with federal immigration officials.

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Trump reiterated his announcement on Wednesday in a post to Truth Social, writing in all-caps: "Effective February first, no more payments will be made by the federal government for their corrupt criminal protection centers known as sanctuary cities."

In response to the announcement, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote on X that "our values and our laws are not bargaining chips."

"We will always defend New Yorkers, even in the face of federal threats to withhold funding," he wrote.

California Governor Gavin Newsom also responded with a post.

"Please pray for the President as he struggles with cognitive decline," he wrote. "He already forgot he tried this before – multiple times – and we sued him and won."

The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to coerce jurisdictions with sanctuary policies, but a judge in August blocked it from withdrawing federal funds.