Bondi Claims 'Major Victory' as Louisville Drops Sanctuary Policies

Attorney General Pam Bondi posted about a "major victory" on Tuesday and said that the Department of Justice had leveraged the city of Louisville, Kentucky, away from its sanctuary city policies.

Bondi posted on X, "In a major victory for the Department of Justice, the city of Louisville is dropping its sanctuary city policies as a result of a strong written warning from my office."

Bondi said the action should be considered by all other cities and governmental units holding out to support sanctuary status. "This should set an example to other cities. Instead of forcing us to sue you — which we will, without hesitation — follow the law, get rid of sanctuary policies, and work with us to fix the illegal immigration crisis."

Local WAVE in Louisville reported that Mayor Craig Greenburg announced the city acted after receiving a notice from the DOJ that Louisville was considered noncompliant with federal immigration policy since the city was not providing immigration enforcement with 48-hour immigrant holds for prisoners to be picked up by federal agents.

Greenburg posted on the city's website that the change did not affect general law enforcement in the town, only the immigrant detainer process. "I want to make it clear — this issue changes nothing with regards to [Louisville Metro Police Department] policy or practice. LMPD is not involved in enforcing federal immigration policy. This is only about inmates who are arrested for crimes, are booked in our jail, and are subject to deportation notices."

WAVE reported that Louisville was the only city in Kentucky that did not abide by the government's 48-hour detainer process, a policy that it had followed since 2017.

The DOJ filed suit against the city of Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass, and the city council at the end of June over sanctuary policies the department said were intended to interfere with immigration enforcement policies of the Trump administration.

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