WASHINGTON – The Justice Department published a list of states, cities, and counties identified as having policies, laws, or regulations that impede enforcement of federal immigration laws.

“Sanctuary policies impede law enforcement and put American citizens at risk by design,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “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.”

On April 28, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14287

: Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens. The Executive Order recognized 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 Executive Order directed the Justice Department, in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security, to publish a list of such jurisdictions. Accordingly, the following states, cities, and counties have been identified as sanctuary jurisdictions:

STATES:

California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Illinois
Minnesota
Nevada
New York
Oregon
Rhode Island
Vermont
Washington

COUNTIES:

Baltimore County, MD
Cook County, IL
San Diego County, CA
San Francisco County, CA

CITIES:

Albuquerque, NM
Berkeley, CA
Boston, MA
Chicago, IL
Denver, CO
East Lansing, MI
Hoboken, NJ
Jersey City, NJ
Los Angeles, CA
New Orleans, LA
New York City, NY
Newark, NJ
Paterson, NJ
Philadelphia, PA
Portland, OR
Rochester, NY
Seattle, WA
San Francisco City, CA

In recent months, the Justice Department has filed several lawsuits against sanctuary jurisdictions seeking to compel compliance with federal law, including one against New York City on July 24th. Recently, the Mayor of Louisville agreed to revoke their sanctuary policies following a letter from the Justice Department threatening legal action.

Sanctuary Jurisdiction characteristics include:

Public Declarations: Cities, states, or counties that publicly declare themselves a sanctuary jurisdiction or equivalent, with the intent to undermine federal immigration enforcement.

Laws, Ordinances, Executive Directives: Cities, states, or counties that have laws, ordinances, regulations, resolutions, policies, or other formalized practices that obstruct or limit local law enforcement cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Restrictions on Information Sharing: Cities, states, or counties that limit whether and how local agencies share information about immigration status of detainees with federal authorities.

Funding Restrictions: Cities, states, or counties that prohibit local funds or resources from being used to support federal immigration enforcement efforts.

Non-cooperation with Federal Immigration Enforcement: Cities, states, or counties that provide training to city employees and police on enforcing sanctuary policies and declining to respond to ICE requests for information.

Limits on ICE Detainers: Cities, states, or counties that refuse to honor ICE detainer requests unless there is a warrant signed by a judge.

Jail Access Restrictions: Cities, states, or counties that restrict ICE agents’ ability to interview detainees absent detainee consent.

Immigrant Community Affairs Offices: Cities, states, or counties that create dedicated offices to engage and advise illegal alien communities on evading federal law enforcement officers.

Federal Benefit Programs: Cities, states, or counties that circumvent federal laws prohibiting the provision of federal benefits to illegal aliens and provide them with access to benefits, including health care assistance, legal aid, food and housing assistance, and other subsidies. This includes cities, states, or counties that establish stand-alone benefit programs or equivalents.   back...