The gravy train stops now says President Trump. Which gravy train? The flow of money to sanctuary cities and states.

President Donald Trump outlined new immigration and fraud‑prevention plans during a speech Tuesday at the Detroit Economic Club, including 90‑day notices directing states like California to return people who entered the country illegally.

He said his administration would stop making payments to sanctuary cities beginning February 1 and argued the United States “can’t afford to take in millions of people” and cover their public services.

“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 at the expense of American Citizens, and it breeds fraud and crime,” the president said.

Of course, the media and Democrats are going to paint this move as mean, discriminatory, racist, and all the things. What they won’t do is admit that yes, the sanctuary city/state policies do NOT protect their citizens. They protect and coddle the criminals who are here illegally. 

It continues to astound, amaze, and infuriate me that sanctuary cities and states put illegals who commit additional crimes above the safety of their citiziens. They’ve chosen quite the hill to die on. 

Of course, Chicago’s mayor threw a snit fit. 

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson responded, saying cutting funds for political reasons is “blatantly unconstitutional and immoral.”

You know what is immoral? Putting criminals ahead of law-abiding citizens. It’s immoral to glorify criminals over the victims. But that is what the Democrat run sanctuary cities and states are doing. 

President Trump: "Starting February 1st, we are not making ANY payments to sanctuary cities or states having sanctuary cities because they do everything possible to protect criminals at the expense of American citizens." pic.twitter.com/scZgH8jjRv

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) January 13, 2026

Here’s the thing, what that flow of money, OUR tax dollars, was doing was funding homes, medical care and more for those here illegally. Those dollars aren’t helping the community or providing necessary funds for our children. Quite the opposite.

Furthermore, as much as I hate the notion of welfare, with the influx of illegals, welfare got expanded to cover them. It shouldn’t. And President Trump wants to cut off that spigot as well. Which he is right to do so. 

Of course the lawsuits will happen. And some liberal judge will again try to put their foot down on this move. 

The money funneled to those states has definitely caused multiple layers of fraud. We are watching it unfold in Minnesota. But other states such as Illinois, Colorado and more aren’t immune to abuse of the system. 

Yet the media sees it as punishment for not voting for him in 2024. 

Trump has repeatedly attempted to withhold funding from Democrat-run states, such as his $10 billion cut to child care funds in blue states earlier this month and his October cancellation of nearly $8 billion in funding to states that voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. Judges in New York and Washington, D.C., ruled against both those moves, respectively.

It’s isn’t that those in the states voted for Kamala, it’s the misuse of the funds! It’s the fact that our tax dollars aren’t going to help American citizens, but instead in too many cases are being funneled to coddle and support illegal aliens who commit crimes here. 

The federal law is clear. If you enter the U.S. illegally, you have BROKEN THE LAW. Thus you must be removed. Sanctuary cities and states would rather burn through our tax dollars to keep them here, at our expense, instead of following federal law. 

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, on X: “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.”

Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz, on X: “Trump admits that this is nothing but political retribution. Minnesota voted against him three times and now he’s punishing us – putting lives at risk and wasting enormous resources in the process.”

Those here illegally are NOT U.S. citizens. Period. Furthermore, it isn’t ICE or CBP who are putting people at risk. The professional agitators are with their protest training. 

Millions upon billions of tax dollars flows into our states, too often with little to no oversight. Yet the Democrats are signaling they don’t give a damn. They want their money and don’t care where it goes. 

Cutting off the all the gravy trains until better safeguards and actual oversight systems are put into place is a good start.

Feature Photo Credit: train car and money via iStock, cropped and modified