‘The Godfather’ Asks Trump For A Favor

Democratic Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel met with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower Wednesday morning and advocated for illegal immigrants on behalf of mayors around the country.

Emanuel is a former congressman and previously served as President Barack Obama’s chief of staff. Emanuel delivered a letter to Trump signed by mayors across the country asking Trump to continue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program launched under Obama, the Chicago mayor’s office announced. DACA, an executive order given in 2012 by Obama, shields illegal immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children from deportation.

“On behalf of the undersigned municipal leaders, we ask your administration to continue to accept and adjudicate initial applications and renewals for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) until Congress modernizes our immigration system and provides a more permanent form of relief for these individuals,” the letter stated.

Trump has previously said he will reverse Obama’s executive actions, but in a recent interview, Trump said he “will work something” out for young illegal immigrants. (RELATED: Obama Will Hand Massive List Of Illegal Immigrants To Trump, Complete With Addresses)

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel holds a news conference in Chicago, Illinois December 30, 2015. REUTERS/Alex Wroblewski

Emanuel told reporters after the meeting that he also defended the idea of sanctuary cities, of which Chicago is one, to Trump. The president-elect has previously vowed to cut off funding to sanctuary cities. The Chicago mayor also told reporters him and Trump discussed education and infrastructure spending.

Emanuel is the third Democratic mayor Trump has met with. On Tuesday, Trump met with District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser and last week Trump met with New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio. D.C. Mayor Bowser said that Trump and her talked about issues important to Washington. De Blasio told the press after his meeting with that New York City will protect immigrants from Trump’s deportation proposals.

Trump owns property in D.C., Chicago and New York.

The three mayors aren’t the only Democratic elected officials Trump has met with during his transition into the White House. The president-elect has previously met with Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and South Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp. Trump is scheduled to meet with Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin on Friday.