The Department of Homeland Security has removed its public list of so-called sanctuary jurisdictions following intense criticism from the National Sheriffs’ Association. The list, published in late May under an executive order from President Donald Trump, identified hundreds of cities, counties and states that the administration accused of obstructing federal immigration enforcement. The group has historically supported Trump-era immigration policies.
However, the sheriffs’ group denounced the release, calling it “arbitrary” and stating that it “violated the core principles of trust, cooperation and partnership with fellow law enforcement.” Association President Sheriff Kieran Donahue stated that DHS created the list without input from local agencies and lacked clear criteria for inclusion.
“The sheriffs of this country feel betrayed,” he said in a statement.
By Sunday, June 1, the list was no longer available on the DHS website. It was not immediately clear whether the department’s decision to remove it was linked to the backlash.
What was on the list?
The DHS list included jurisdictions that the agency said had adopted policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities, often referred to as sanctuary policies. Among those listed were 13 states, Washington, D.C., and cities such as New York, Chicago, Boston and Denver.
Local leaders said the list also included smaller cities and counties that officials had not previously identified as sanctuaries. Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley, D, said officials wrongly labeled her city.
“We have never been a sanctuary city. We are not a sanctuary city. We’re not ever going to be a sanctuary city,” she said.
How did DHS and Trump justify it?
In a statement tied to the list’s publication, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said local governments with sanctuary policies were “endangering Americans and our law enforcement in order to protect violent criminal illegal aliens.”
Trump ordered the list through an April 28 executive order that described sanctuary policies as “a lawless insurrection.” DHS announced it would update the list regularly and warned that it would send formal noncompliance notifications to the jurisdictions named on it.
What comes next?
Although DHS has removed the list from public view, it has not announced whether it plans to republish a revised version. Noem told Fox News that “some of the cities have pushed back” but insisted that many still qualify under DHS standards.
“They think because they don’t have one law or another on the books that they don’t qualify, but they do qualify. They are giving sanctuary to criminals,” Noem said, referring to jurisdictions she says fail to cooperate with ICE detainers.
Meanwhile, several states and cities, including Colorado, Baltimore, Maryland, and Huntington Beach, California, have demanded corrections or removal. A coalition of 20 Democratic-led states has already filed suit to block federal threats to withhold funding from jurisdictions labeled as sanctuaries.
Straight Arrow News contacted sheriffs in several listed counties, including Santa Cruz and Alameda in California, Hennepin County in Minnesota, Cook County in Illinois, Clark County (Las Vegas), Baltimore, and Denver for comment. None had responded as of publication.
