Romney vows to 'cut funding for sanctuary cities'

In Mitt Romney's new ad on illegal immigration, he vows to "cut funding for sanctuary cities," whatever those are.



The remark about "sanctuary cities" comes from Romney's Strategy for a Stronger America, available on his campaign website. The document includes the following about Romney's plan to end illegal immigration:

Punish Sanctuary Cities. Cut back federal funding to
cities that are “sanctuaries” for illegal immigrants and
refuse to comply with federal law or aid federal
law enforcement.

The definition of "sanctuary" in this case is so vague as to be meaningless.

What would constitute "sanctuary"? What federal laws are Romney saying the violation of which would result in funding cuts? What funds would be cut?

And why doesn't Romney's strategic plan to "end illegal immigration" contain one word about punishing businesses who employ people who are in this country illegally? Surely, any such plan would have to address the problem of undocumented labor on the demand end of the equation as well as on the supply end.

Not that Republican Party primary voters are going to concern themselves with such nuances. But it would be nice if the campaign press corps could be bothered to ask for some specifics, rather than continue to worry about who is tipping whom at America's lunch counters.