During a campaign event at a VFW hall in southern New Hampshire, Bush said it’s not inconsistent for him to support allowing immigrants who overstayed visas to pursue activities that allow them to remain in the U.S., while also stepping up policies to root out criminal offenders who are also immigrants.

“We ought to eliminate sanctuary cities,” Bush told more than 300 people at an evening town hall meeting at the Veterans of Foreign Wars facility. “Talking about things the federal government can do, we shouldn’t provide law enforcement monies for cities like San Francisco until they change their policies.”

In recent days, Bush has dismissed rivals inside and outside his party on the subject of immigration.

Bush said fellow Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s comments last week characterizing Mexican immigrants as criminals, drug dealers and rapists was “extraordinarily ugly.”