Trump's team reportedly looking to punish sanctuary cities that block mass deportation efforts
WASHINGTON -- President-elect Donald Trump's team is reportedly preparing to punish so-called sanctuary cities, which are mostly Democratic-run areas where cooperation with federal immigration officials is often limited.
The Washington Post reports that Trump's advisers are discussing how to strip federal resources from those cities if they refuse to take part in mass deportations.
MORE: LA City Council unanimously votes to approve 'sanctuary city' ordinance
"Let me be clear: There is going to be a mass deportation. Because we just finished a mass illegal immigration crisis on the border," said Trump's incoming border czar Tom Homan while touring the Southern border in Texas on Tuesday.
Homan said he's willing to throw Denver Mayor Mike Johnston in jail over his protests about mass deportation.
"I'm sending a message to the people who said they're going to get in our way, they're going to stop us from doing what we're doing," Homan said.
Earlier in the week, Homan spoke about Mayor Johnston during an interview on Fox News.
"But look, me and the Denver mayor, we agree on one thing -- he's willing to go to jail, I'm willing to put him in jail because there there's a statute. It's Title 8 United States Code 1324 (iii). And what it says is it's a felony if you knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien from immigration authorities. It's also a felony to impede a federal law enforcement officer," Homan told Sean Hannity.
MORE: What does it mean to be a sanctuary city?
Homan's comments come after Mayor Johnston said he was willing to go to jail to stop possible mass deportation efforts under the incoming Trump administration.
"I'm not afraid of that and I'm also not seeking that," he said during an interview with a local NBC affiliate.
Johnston did walk back comments he made about stationing police officers at the county line to stop federal forces from coming in to deport undocumented immigrants. In an interview with local news outlet Denverite he likened those efforts to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in China.
Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is slamming a Houston doctor, who posted a video advising patients not to answer questions about their immigration status.
In response, Abbott warned that the hospital's "Medicaid and Medicare funding is at risk" if it fails to follow an executive order. The hospital is vowing to follow the law.
MORE: What Trump's border czar has said he plans to do starting on Day 1
Trump is also using tariffs to pressure Mexico and Canada to secure their borders.
Trump is threatening a 25% tax on products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico - and an additional 10% tariff on goods from China, saying, "This tariff will remain in effect until such time as drugs, in particular fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country!"
In response, Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum is now threatening to fight back with her own tariffs, saying the border crisis cannot be solved "with threats and tariffs" and warning that if the U.S. imposes tariffs, "it is not acceptable and would cause inflation and job losses in the U.S. and Mexico."
Canada's parliament held an "emergency debate" Tuesday night, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had a "good call" with Trump about the potential tariffs.
As for China, it's defending its drug-enforcement policies -- saying "fentanyl is a problem in the U.S."
MORE: Trump plans to declare national emergency for mass deportations
ABC News' Armando Garcia contributed to this report.
