Twelve U.S. states and 10 major cities are on a list of sanctuary jurisdictions that use policies, laws, or regulations to impede enforcement of federal immigration laws, according to the Department of Justice.
California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington are on the list released Tuesday by the DOJ.
Cities listed included Albuquerque, New Mexico; Berkeley, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; Denver, Colorado; East Lansing, Michigan; Hoboken, New Jersey; Jersey City, New Jersey; Los Angeles, California; New Orleans, Louisiana; New York City, New York; Newark, New Jersey; Paterson, New Jersey; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Portland, Oregon; Rochester, New York; Seattle, Washington; and San Francisco City, California.
Four counties — Baltimore County, Maryland; Cook County, Illinois; San Diego County, California; and San Francisco County, California – and the District of Columbia also appear on the list.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the list will be reviewed regularly to include additional locations and remove jurisdictions that have remediated their policies, practices, and laws.
"Sanctuary policies impede law enforcement and put American citizens at risk by design," Bondi said in a statement. "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."
President Donald Trump on April 28 signed an executive order directing the DOJ, in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security, to publish a list of sanctuary jurisdictions.
Trump's order said "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 DOJ in recent months has filed several lawsuits against sanctuary jurisdictions, seeking to compel compliance with federal law.
The department sued New York City and Mayor Eric Adams on July 24, alleging that the city's sanctuary policies are unconstitutional and actively interfere with federal immigration enforcement.
Two days earlier, Bondi posted about a "major victory" on social media and said the DOJ had leveraged the city of Louisville, Kentucky, away from its sanctuary city policies.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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