"Protecting criminal aliens from federal immigration authorities defies common sense and undermines the rule of law," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement.

A senior Justice Department official says the department has asked jurisdictions to voluntarily turn over the records it's seeking but is prepared to subpoena them.

Along with New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles, the jurisdictions the Justice Department is targeting in this latest action include the states of Illinois, California and Oregon and the capital cities of Albany, New York, Sacramento, California and Jackson, Mississippi.

Reacting to the Justice Department action, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was quick to label it in a tweet a "racist assault on our immigrant communities. It doesn't make us safer and it violates America's core values."

The Trump administration has long threatened to block some federal funds to jurisdictions who defy U.S. Immigration authorities. So far, such efforts have been blocked in court.

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

Artemis II Mission Pilot: 'We Need Jesus; Whether Here on Earth or Orbiting the Moon'

Democrat Lawmaker Steps Down, Says Faith No Longer Aligns with Left's Agenda

Trump Administration Charges 9 in Massive Massachusetts Fraud Scheme

ICE Finally Detains Notorious Hamas Fundraiser Salah Sarsour; Decades of Terror Ties Exposed as AMP Leader Faces Deportation

Johnson, Thune Hatch Plan to Fund DHS and Launch a Second Reconciliation Push to End the Dem's Shutdown

Pentagon Briefed Trump on Plan to Seize Uranium from Hands of Iranian Terrorist Regime

President Trump Reassures Americans: Iran Operation Won't Be a Forever War

Pam Bondi OUT as Attorney General

Countdown for Historic Space Mission Artemis II Begins

Federal Judge Orders Trump Administration to Halt Construction on Privately Funded White House Ballroom; Trump Responds

Trump Rolls Out a Plan to Back Farmers amid Rising Costs, Pledging 'Golden Age'

Trump's Election Executive Order is Causing a Meltdown among Liberals

Another Illegal Alien Charged With Murder in Democrat Run Fairfax County, Virginia

US Forces Reach 12,000 Combat Flights, Debunk Fake News About Iran Operation

President Trump Addresses Nation Tonight, Signals End in Sight for Iran Conflict

Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Birthright Citizenship, as the CCP Exploits It to Sway US Elections

ICYMI: Iranian People March in DC in Support of Op Epic Fury and Trump; 'We Will Reclaim Our Country'

Trump's FDA Indicates Move Away from Testing on Dogs, Bunnies, Chimpanzees

Chicago Bulls Dump Player after His Criticism of Pride Month

Finally Confirmed: Michigan Synagogue Car Ramming Was 'Hezbollah-Inspired' Terror Attack