What a difference actually being invaded, instead of watching it happen to others, makes.

Sanctuary cities used to brag that they would never turn over illegal alien muggers and rapists to ICE. They’d much rather provide them with sanctuary where they wouldn’t be deported. Now they’re rethinking it.

Jurisdictions across the country are rethinking their sanctuary city policies and increasing their cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the interest of public safety, the head of ICE told NBC News.

In an interview, acting ICE Director P.J. Lechleitner said some counties and cities that previously refused to tell ICE when they were releasing undocumented immigrants from jail are now discussing ways they might be able to coordinate with ICE further, like giving it advance notice before migrants convicted of violent crimes are released.

Previously, those jurisdictions had been among the many cities with Democratic or progressive leadership that had been refusing to work with ICE out of concern it might inhibit the investigation of crimes. They believed migrants would be afraid to report crimes if contacting the authorities exposed them to the risk of deportation.

Understandably outside of Baltimore, none of these places want to be named or go on the record, especially since in some cases, like California, they’d be violating the law. (California’s ability to make laws banning law enforcement from complying with federal laws is an issue that ought to have been fought to the Supreme Court.) But it does show that a lot of cities have had enough, they just can’t say it.

Dogma demands that they be sanctuary states while reality demands that they deport criminals.