New London — President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign promise to withhold federal funding to so-called sanctuary cities like New London could set up a potential showdown between Republican-controlled Congress and the state’s Democratic leaders.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Tuesday, during an address to a group of immigrants and Jewish community leaders in New Haven, said he would sue if the federal government tried to withhold federal funds.

“We would protect our rights as a state,” Malloy said.

"Sanctuary city" is a term used for jurisdictions that have in some way acted to shield undocumented immigrants and commonly have directives in place, to a greater or lesser extent, to ensure police do not actively enforce federal immigration law.

Daryl Justin Finizio, during his first full day in office as New London's mayor, issued an executive order mandating police not inquire into someone’s immigration status or take measures against a suspected undocumented immigrant or refugee unless a violation of federal immigration law was being investigated.

Cities such as New Haven and Hartford have policies in place that go even further and will not detain people on behalf of the federal department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Finizio says his intention was to reassure members of the diverse community that they can trust their local government and should report crimes in their neighborhood and get involved in the school district. He said it was never a direct defiance of federal law but a recognition that local communities with limited resources cannot go out and enforce federal laws because “it’s logistically impossible.”

“The concern was to get people out of the shadows and involved in civic life,” Finizio said this week. “I think it’s been a good thing for the city and the sky has not fallen. I think we have a stronger and more united community because of it. If people are obeying the laws and have been here ... I think it makes little sense to spend time rounding up otherwise law-abiding citizens."

“For five years we’ve had that policy and it's never proven to be a very controversial thing in New London — a testament to what a welcoming and strong community it is,” he said.

Mayor Michael Passero, who succeeded Finizio in office, said it has been the policy at both the fire and police departments to respect the civil rights of all citizens. The police department, as part of its policy against racial profiling, bars officers from stopping, detaining or arresting anyone solely based on race, ethnicity, religion or immigration status.

Lori Hopkins-Cavanagh of New London, a radio talk show host and founder of the American Liberty Center, was critical of Finizio’s executive order and maintains that sanctuary cities “hurt the people that need the most help” by presenting competition for the working poor and the “regular American trying to make a life.”

“The illegals drive down the price of labor so the working poor suffer more," she said. "You can’t compete.”

"Trump's threat to defund is appropriate, depending what is targeted," Hopkins-Cavanagh said. "It is a trap to believe that Trump will withhold health care to addicts unless he specifically stated that. Community organizations paid to facilitate illegals should be defunded immediately. The Justice Department gave hundreds of thousands to sanctuary cities and states including (Connecticut) — that should end immediately."

Malloy and others have pointed out that the term sanctuary city is not a legal term and was created as a way to condemn cities who were perceived as flaunting federal law. Malloy said it is up to the federal government, not the states, to investigate federal immigration violations.

“We don’t have the obligation to do the work of the federal government,” Malloy said at his recent address in New Haven. “I think Connecticut is honoring its commitments, but we’re also saying to the federal government, if you desire to take actions, you should take those actions, but don’t depend on us to take those actions on your behalf.”

Both of the state’s Democratic senators said they would be opposed to the withholding of federal funding.

“People in Connecticut tell me they want safe communities, but also a government that upholds American values like hard work and respect for families,” U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said in a statement to The Day. “That’s why I partnered with Republicans and Democrats to vote for a comprehensive fix to our broken immigration system that secures our borders, deports criminals, keeps families together and allows people who have worked hard and paid their taxes to come out of the shadows and work toward citizenship."

“Taking money away from local police departments who are focused on arresting criminals rather than demanding papers from immigrant families is not the answer. That’s something I won’t stand for,” Murphy said.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, also D-Conn., agreed the focus should be on comprehensive immigration reform, securing the borders and “providing a path to earned citizenship for many of the people now in the shadows who have no criminal record and have families and jobs here.

“Federal policy should help and not hinder local law enforcement policy,” Blumenthal said.

g.smith@theday.com