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Snyder waits, watches for Trump's immigration policies

MI Governor Rick Snyder
gophouse.com
MI Governor Rick Snyder

A year after he called for a “pause” in resettling refugees from the Middle East, Governor Snyder says he’s watching and waiting to see what Donald Trump will do with immigration policy.

That includes the president-elect’s promise to cut funding to sanctuary cities. Michigan has at least two cities – Detroit and Ann Arbor – that have policies to harbor immigrations regardless of their visa status.

“I’m not going to speculate on things until we get more information in terms of what the president-elect plans on doing,” Snyder says, noting that Trump seems to be reining in his rhetoric from the campaign.

“The election just took place and we need to see how he positions things now that he’s president-elect, and you’re already seeing some transition on those thoughts and processes,” he says. “I think the best thing to do is, let’s take an approach of giving him an opportunity to establish his cabinet, and establish policies. And then we can make decisions accordingly.”

Before calling for a halt in resettlements, the governor said he wanted more refugees from Syria and other countries to immigrate to Michigan.

Copyright 2016 Michigan Radio

Kate Wells is a Peabody Award-winning journalist and co-host of the Michigan Radio and NPR podcast Believed. The series was widely ranked among the best of the year, drawing millions of downloads and numerous awards. She and co-host Lindsey Smith received the prestigious Livingston Award for Young Journalists. Judges described their work as "a haunting and multifaceted account of U.S.A. Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar’s belated arrest and an intimate look at how an army of women – a detective, a prosecutor and survivors – brought down the serial sex offender."