ALAMEDA (KRON) — The City of Alameda has declined to accept thousands of dollars in federal grant money because it believes doing so would violate its sanctuary city policy.

The United States Justice Department says that in exchange for the grant money, the city needs to provide information on immigration status.

The city manager says that’s not something they are willing to do.

Earlier this year Alameda’s City Council voted to become a sanctuary city, and there has been concern ever since that the decision might create problems with the federal government under President Trump and that is exactly what has happened.

For the last decade, the City of Alameda has received up to $30,000 per year in grant money from the Justice Department to buy equipment and supplies for the local police department.

This year, the city was eligible for about $11,000 but when the application arrived, there was a new requirement included that said that in exchange for the money, the city would need to provide information on residents’ immigration status.

The city manager told KRON4 on Tuesday that providing those details violates the sanctuary city policy, so they have decided to turn down the money.

“I was hoping it wasn’t there but it was,” Jill Keimach said. “So, we decided to not accept the grant funds and stand on principle to protect our citizens.”

Now, refusing the federal funds is a mostly symbolic gesture. The city has an annual budget of $249 million, and the grant money was barely a drop in the bucket.

Finally, the city managers say Alameda is hoping to team up with other sanctuary cities to challenge the Justice Department’s new requirements for receiving federal funds.WHAT OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON:

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