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A fierce battle is now underway between US President Donald Trump and the hundreds of American cities and towns that have vowed to protect the illegal immigrants he wants to deport.
America's "sanctuary cities" have welcomed many of the country's 11 million undocumented residents.
Mr Trump won office promising to crack down on illegal immigrants and kick out the 800,000 with criminal convictions.
He told the final presidential debate in October 2016:
"We have some bad hombres here and we have to get them out."
But under Mr Trump's policy, any undocumented migrant is fair game. And he wants to abolish the so-called sanctuary cities altogether.
Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, known as ICE agents, have begun zeroing in on America's sanctuary jurisdictions.
That's left millions of unauthorised migrants living in fear. But many Americans are pleased about a move they say will save jobs — and lives.
What is a sanctuary city?
There is no formal definition of a "sanctuary city", but they are essentially places where local police and city officials protect illegal immigrants from being turned over to federal immigration authorities.
Sanctuary city: San Francisco
- Estimated 35,000 undocumented migrants in city
- 500,000 more reside in the adjoining metropolitan "Bay Area"
- 2.6 million undocumented migrants in the state of California
- More than 6 per cent of state's population
- Nearly 10 per cent of California's labour force
Foreign Correspondent travelled to San Francisco, which is fast becoming the de-facto capital of the "sanctuary" movement.
A city with a long history of embracing libertarian causes, San Francisco was one of the first places in America to enact sanctuary protection, enshrined in a City Hall ordinance in the 1980s.
The rationale is that undocumented immigrants are more likely to report crimes if they don't fear being deported when they contact local police.
"It means safer communities, it means diverse communities, it means welcome communities," San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said.
The Mayor is now suing Mr Trump over the crackdown, and is not afraid of the President's threat to cut sanctuary cities' federal funding.
"It could be in the billions of dollars but we have to also not be afraid of those fights," he said.
Local police are the upholders of the sanctuary policy. They are under orders not to assist Federal ICE officers.
"For example, if a police officer stopped someone for running a red light and the police officer somehow finds out that the person's undocumented, it would be a violation of the sanctuary ordinance to call up immigration and say: 'Hey, I have an undocumented person here'," said Bill Ong Hing, an immigration law professor at the University of San Francisco and a member of the city's Police Commission.
But sanctuary policies have their limitations.
"It's not going to result in the San Francisco police standing guard at the border of San Francisco and battling the immigration enforcement officials and keeping them restrained from coming into the city — that's not going to happen," Professor Ong Hing said.
Protecting America
But while sanctuary city supporters say the policies make them safer, many others say they breed crime and misery.
Mr Trump said his crackdown on sanctuary cities was about protecting American lives.
"Countless innocent American lives have been stolen because our politicians have failed in their duty to secure our borders and enforce our laws like they have to be enforced," he told a rally in Arizona last August.
"I have met with many of the great parents who lost their children to sanctuary cities and open borders — so many people, so many, many people. So sad."
One of the parents he met with was Don Rosenberg.
Before speaking to Foreign Correspondent, Mr Rosenberg had never been to the San Francisco street corner where his son was killed.
"It doesn't look like anything bad should've happened," he said, peering through the rain towards the intersection of Harrison and 16th Streets in San Francisco's Mission District.
In 2010, a Honduran immigrant — who entered the US illegally — ran over and killed Mr Rosenberg's 25-year-old son Drew.
The immigrant had been pulled over by San Francisco police for driving without a licence months before the accident — but it did not stop him getting back behind the wheel.
"No matter what we do, we'll never stop every person who sneaks into this country illegally," he said.
"But we're helping them. We're supporting them.
"Once they get here and they commit a crime, we're protecting them, so that's the story — that's the story that needs to be told."
Mr Rosenberg is a lifelong Democrat, but felt ignored by his party on the issue of illegal immigration.
He is not a fan of Mr Trump, but he hopes the new president's policies can prevent other families suffering.
"It's just something you hope nobody ever has to go through because it's a horrible, horrible experience," he said.
Mr Rosenberg finds no joy in being outspoken, and he knows nothing will bring his son back.
"It's a horrible thing to say: 'You — out of the country'," he said.
"I had to fight to get the guy who killed Drew deported and the day he got his deportation order, I wasn't happy. I didn't feel any better."
'This is my land'
The undocumented migrant population is becoming increasingly entrenched in American society.
More than 60 per cent of undocumented adults have lived in the US for a decade or more, and many have established their entire lives in America. They have set up businesses, employ other immigrants. Some even pay taxes.
In San Francisco, undocumented migrants can get ID cards. The state of California, which also takes a pro-sanctuary stance, has issued more than 800,000 driver's licences to so-called "illegals", but does not pass driver details on to federal authorities.
While the city and the state are welcoming, the Federal Government offers no such assurances — even for those migrants who are fierce patriots.
Joaquin Sotelo, 35, now lives in a San Francisco halfway house for veterans.
"I consider myself an American because I was willing to die for this country," he said.
His mother brought him to the US illegally from Mexico when he was eight years old.
He grew up on food stamps and went on to join the US Navy, serving for six years, including two tours in the Middle East.
But after leaving the Navy, his life unravelled. He abused drugs and alcohol, and a domestic violence conviction landed him in jail for 18 months.
Inside, he got clean, found religion and was ready to start his life anew.
But the day he was released, he was picked up by immigration agents.
"I felt this country had turned its back on me … just noise for a wrongful decision that I've already [been] rehabilitated from," he said.
He was released on a bond four weeks ago. The government is now trying to revoke it, and he could be deported any day.
For Mr Sotelo, the stakes are high. His three kids live in the US, and are American citizens.
He said, if he does get deported, he is prepared to try to cross the border illegally and come back.
"They could even throw me in prison because I did that, but this is my land," he said. "This is what I went and fought for. I deserve to be here."
Topics: donald-trump, immigration, community-and-society, law-crime-and-justice, united-states
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