The Attorney General said Thursday that cities that refuse to devote their efforts to combat crimes committed by undocumented immigrants would not be able to participate in the new crime-reduction training program that was made public in June by the Department of Justice.

According to Reuters, for cities to participate in the Department of Justice's Public Safety Partnership Program, they must first answer some questions and ensure that they do not have any "sanctuary" policy to protect "illegal immigrants" from deportation And that will allow federal immigration officials to access their local jails.

At the moment, the police departments that are under such questioning are those of Albuquerque (New Mexico), Baltimore (Maryland) and San Bernardino and Stockton (California).

Thursday's statements by Jeff Sessions corroborate the pressure the government is taking against any measure that protects or shelters the immigrant community. Added to this is the president's statement of a new immigration strategy for the country based on professional merit and English language management.

"By protecting criminals from immigration enforcement, cities and states with so-called 'sanctuary' policies make all of us less safe," Sessions said.

The new National Public Safety Parnership Program has been promoted for some months and it involves a three-year initiative in which new measures will be developed in areas with high rates of violent crime.

The cities pre-selected for the program are Buffalo, New York, Houston, Texas and the home state of Sessions, Birmingham, Alabama, according to the report.