NORTHAMPTON — Months of vague threats by Donald Trump’s administration against sanctuary cities like Northampton and Amherst just evolved into something more specific.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Tuesday that police departments would not be eligible for the Department of Justice’s most commonly sought-after grant program unless its officers work with federal immigration enforcement officials to detain undocumented immigrants.

In most cases, departments such as those in Northampton and Amherst would need to break policies under their sanctuary city status in order to comply with the new grant conditions in the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Programs.

“So-called ‘sanctuary’ policies make all of us less safe because they intentionally undermine our laws and protect illegal aliens who have committed crimes,” Sessions said in the statement. “These policies also encourage illegal immigration and even human trafficking by perpetuating the lie that in certain cities, illegal aliens can live outside the law.”

While the statement appears to run afoul of Monday’s ruling by the Supreme Judicial Court in Massachusetts, which found local and state officials don’t have the authority to detain immigrants without charges, the threat is unnerving to local leaders who stand to lose entire salaries for police officers.

Northampton Police Chief Jody Kasper said Wednesday the program Sessions mentions provides a $91,699 salary grant to help fund her department’s school resource officer, Joshua Wallace, for two years. She said that grant expires in October.

“It’s disheartening to believe the federal government would consider withholding funds that directly impact the safety of our officers and of our city,” Kasper said. “It feels like less of a partnership, and we’ve always considered our federal partners to be just that — partners.”

Kasper said she has no intentions of removing Wallace from his station, and since she knew the grant was expiring she built extra funds into the budget through the end of the year in case it wasn’t renewed.

“We intend to keep Officer Wallace in the schools as long as we can,” she said, adding it’s unclear if Sessions’ statement will translate into reality or if it’s political grandstanding. “It’s hard to know how things are going to shake out at the end of all these statements.”

Bill Newman, director of the Western Regional Law Office of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, questioned the legality of the grant stipulation. He said it flies in the face of established Supreme Court precedent, and of Monday’s SJC ruling.

“I think the AG’s threats are ringing hollow,” he said.

And in its specifics — that departments must allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials access to detention facilities and provide the agency at least 48 hours notice before releasing an undocumented immigrant wanted by authorities — Newman said the statement is unconstitutional.

“It’s an unfunded mandate and improper and, I think, a dangerous extension of federal law enforcement,” he said.

Byrne program funding also helps pay for a community liaison at the Amherst Police Department. Amherst leaders could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Chloe Gotsis, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts attorney general’s office, said the office is looking into Sessions’ statement. But community law enforcement decisions are best made at the local level and that efforts to force local and state officials into immigration enforcement are troubling, she said.

Sessions said in the statement the new grant conditions fall in line with long-established practice and what’s best for the country.

“This is what the American people should be able to expect from their cities and states,” he said. “These long overdue requirements will help us take down MS-13 and other violent transnational gangs, and make our country safer.”

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