The Trump administration raised the idea of releasing detained migrants into so-called sanctuary cities on at least two occasions in the last six months.

The Washington Post , which cited unnamed officials at the Department of Homeland Security, said White House officials first proposed the idea in November, when a migrant caravan from Central America was on its way to the U.S.-Mexico border.

In an email to DHS, ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the deputy White House policy coordinator May Davis suggested that members of the caravan be "bused to small- and mid-sized sanctuary cities" if not enough shelters could be built to house them.

ICE's acting deputy director Matthew Albence brought up potential liability and budgetary concerns with the idea and it did not go into effect.

He denied being pressured in a statement Thursday, saying, "The email exchange is clear, and suggesting that it indicates inappropriate pressure is inaccurate." But the White House reportedly brought up the idea again in February when President Donald Trump and Democratic lawmakers were at odds over border wall funding.

It was once again rejected.

A White House official told  The New York Times  that the primary purpose of the idea was to come up with a way to deal with the migrants and not to punish Democrats.

Additional reporting from  Newsy affiliate CNN .