Donald Trump shares a laugh on the campaign trail
Donald Trump shares a laugh on the campaign trailReuters

US President Donald Trump's call for an end to the phenomenon of 'sanctuary cities,' which provide shelter for illegal immigrants from federal law enforcement, has achieved its first victory in the city of Miami, Florida, the Miami Herald reported.

Miami is not officially a sanctuary city. However, Miami-Dade County has refused to enforce federal laws and regulations requiring the indefinite detention of illegal immigrants who are wanted by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since 2013.

President Trump announced earlier this week his intention to strip cities which refuse to cooperate with the ICE of the federal funding they currently receive.

“We’re going to strip federal grant money from the sanctuary states and cities that harbor illegal immigrants,” White House Press Secretary told reporters on Wednesday.

Miami Mayor Carlos Gimenez ordered prisons in Miami to begin cooperating with federal immigration officials again, after Trump signed an executive order cutting the funding to sanctuary cities. The city stood to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding if it continued to act as a sanctuary city.

"In light of the provisions of the Executive Order, I direct you and your staff to honor all immigration detainer requests received from the Department of Homeland Security,” Gimenez wrote.

Immigration policy was a central issue of President Trump;'s election campaign. This week, he signed executive orders calling for the construction of a wall on the southern border of the US to keep illegal immigrants out, and to publish a weekly list of crimes committed by illegal immigrants in sanctuary cities.

Trump praised Mayor Gmenez's decision to cooperate with federal immigration authorities on his Twitter account. "Miami-Dade Mayor drops sanctuary policy. Right decision. Strong!" the President wrote.