By Joseph Lord
Contributing Writer
The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday released an updated list of state and local jurisdictions judged by the administration to be sanctuary jurisdictions flouting federal immigration law.
“Sanctuary policies impede law enforcement and put American citizens at risk by design,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement attached to the updated list.
Sanctuary jurisdictions describe jurisdictions in which officials refuse to enforce federal immigration law or refuse to comply with federal immigration authorities. The DOJ describes such jurisdictions as having undertaken “actions and policies that materially impede enforcement of federal immigration statutes and regulations” in the area.
The DOJ lists 12 states and the District of Columbia, four counties, and 18 cities as being such jurisdictions.
The list was released in line with an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in April, which said that “some State and local officials … continue to use their authority to violate, obstruct, and defy the enforcement of Federal immigration laws” and “[i]t is imperative that the Federal Government restore the enforcement of United States law.”
The 12 states listed in the DOJ release include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
The counties include Baltimore County, Maryland; Cook County, Illinois; San Diego County, California; and San Francisco County, California.
The cities include several major American population centers, including Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, Seattle, and San Francisco. Also listed are Albuquerque, New Mexico; Berkeley, California; East Lansing, Michigan; Hoboken, Jersey City, Newark, Paterson, all in New Jersey; Portland, Oregon; and Rochester, New York.
The criteria for inclusion as such a jurisdiction include public declarations of being such, city or state ordinances that obstruct or limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, placing restrictions on sharing information with federal immigration authorities, and other actions that limit enforcement of federal immigration law over a specific area.
The updated list comes after an earlier list released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) faced strong pushback from sheriffs and law enforcement officials, who said the list was “created without any input, criteria of compliance, or a mechanism for how to object to the designation.”
DHS removed the list, which initially threatened loss of federal funding for noncompliance.
By contrast, the updated DOJ list provides no penalties for noncompliance beyond continued legal action in the courts, the approach that the administration has already taken toward such jurisdictions.
“The Department of Justice will continue bringing litigation against sanctuary jurisdictions and work closely with the Department of Homeland Security to eradicate these harmful policies around the country,” Bondi said.
