Around the nation, inspired by Trump’s campaign promise to cut off funding to sanctuary cities, Republican legislatures and governors are find the courage to stop subsidizing municipalities that sanction and encourage flouting of the law. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has already pulled $1.5 million in state funding from Travis County because its sheriff has announced that she will not cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Several other states are in the process of cracking down, too.

As the risk to their income becomes real, we’re discovering just how superficial the sanctuary city movement is.

Several towns, cities and counties around the nation are caving to President Trump’s threat to pull funding, and abandoning their “sanctuary” pledges to shield illegal immigrants from federal authorities.

Dayton, Ohio, dropped a policy that restricted the city’s cooperation with immigration officials pursuing illegal immigrants arrested for misdemeanors or felony property crimes, according to the Dayton Daily News. Police Chief Richard Biehl said federal authorities will no longer be impeded by the city when pursuing illegal immigrants being held by his department.

Other communities that have dropped policies of shielding illegal immigrant suspects from Immigration and Customs Enforcement include Miami-Dade and Dayton, are Saratoga, N.Y., Finney County, Kan., and Bedford, Penn., according to The Center for Immigration Studies, which keeps a list of sanctuary communities.

“We are reviewing policy changes at a multitude of other jurisdictions as well,” said Marguerite Telford, CIS’s director of communications, who said the organization is “being inundated” by officials on its sanctuary map who want to be taken off.

Of course they want off the list. It was fun being on the list when there was no real sacrifice involved. Now, when potentially having to choose between alleged and ephemeral principles and actual cash, we’re seeing what is important.

When I was a kid, cartoons before school and on Saturday morning were a big deal. One of my favorites was Tooter Turtle and Mister Wizard. The general theme was always the same, Tooter was not satisfied with his life always thought being something else would be more fun. He’d prevail upon Mister Wizard, despite the warnings he’d received, to change him into a cowboy, WW I fighter pilot, pioneer, etc. Inevitably Tooter would get caught in a tight place and have to beg Mister Wizard to bring him home.

Watch the whole thing or skip ahead to 4:00 for the punchline

We’re seeing the same vignette play out with sanctuary cities.