One day after reports emerged that White House officials had pressured immigration authorities to release immigrant detainees into sanctuary cities, President Trump confirmed the shocking proposal, first via tweet and later as he spoke to reporters.

President Donald Trump: “We’ll bring the illegal—really, you call them the illegals. I call them the illegals. They came across the border illegally. We’ll bring them to sanctuary city areas and let that particular area take care of it, whether it’s a state or whatever it might be.”

Trump made the remarks at a White House event Friday, saying he could enact the plan if Democrats don’t accept his immigration proposals. Trump has long railed against sanctuary cities, which have barred local police from cooperating with federal immigration agencies.

Democratic Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan responded to Trump in an op-ed, saying, “Seattle is not afraid of immigrants and refugees. … What does scare us? A president and federal government that would seek to weaponize a law enforcement agency to punish perceived political enemies. … This president believes that immigrants and refugees burden our country and burden cities like ours. But he could not be more wrong.”

The New York Daily News published a defiant front-page cover with the headline “WE’LL TAKE THEM” Saturday, featuring a photo of the Statue of Liberty with the words “Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”