Trump applauds Miami-Dade decision to order county jails to comply with his orders

President says Mayor Carlos Gimenez made 'right decision'

MIAMI – In an apparent effort to keep federal funds pouring into the county, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez has ordered jails to comply with immigration guidelines.

File: READ - Miami-Dade mayor memo ordering jails comply with Executive Order

The move will ensure that the county stays off the "sanctuary cities" list that Trump's administration promised to cut off if the federal guidelines weren't met.

Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties were possible targets of Trump's executive order, put into effect Wednesday, that will cut grants to counties and cities that fail to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Gimenez said Wednesday that Miami-Dade County was not a "sanctuary" and always followed the letter of the law.

In a memo released Thursday, Gimenez wrote Daniel Junior, the interim director of the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department, directing him and his staff to "honor all immigration detainer requests received from the Department of Homeland Security."

Trump praised the decision on Twitter, writing that the county made the "right decision." 

"We used to require the federal government to assure us that they were going to reimburse us for the cost of that prisoner until they picked them up. We no longer will require that," Gimenez told reporters Thursday. "So we're taking away any kind of excuse as to why the federal government could withhold any federal aid to Miami-Dade County, which is millions and millions of dollars."