Acting DHS secretary says relocating migrants to sanctuary cities is not intentional. But at least one Democratic lawmaker doesn't buy it.

Kevin McAleenan.
(Image credit: Screenshot/CBS)

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan told host Margaret Brennan on Sunday's Face the Nation that, yes, his organization is relocating migrants to sanctuary cities. But it's not part of President Trump's self-described "sick idea" to anger those cities that do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

Instead, McAleenan said the transport efforts are based on "necessity and capacity" to safely process the migrants. For example, due to overcrowding at facilities in Texas, the agency has begun flying hundreds of migrants to San Diego to increase efficiency. While several of the cities and states that will take in the relocated migrants are, in fact, "sanctuaries," McAleenan said that their selection was not intentional or politically motivated.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.