On May 29, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security published a list of over 500 jurisdictions – states, counties, and cities – that it deems deliberately “obstruct the enforcement of Federal immigration law,” citing only broad factors such as “compliance with federal law enforcement, information restrictions, and legal protections for [unauthorized immigrants].” This was in accordance with the April 28 EO. According to the DHS announcement, each jurisdiction will receive a notice about its alleged “non-compliance with Federal statutes,” but further steps DHS will take were not identified. It is likely that these jurisdictions will be targeted for retaliatory withholding of federal grants and funding, an issue that is already being litigated in federal court. After strong pushback, DHS disabled the page with the list as of June 1.
On April 28, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO), “Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens,” that follows up on previous orders and memos that seek to withhold federal funds from state and local jurisdictions that the administration considers “sanctuary” jurisdictions, as a way to punish those jurisdictions and compel them to assist federal immigration enforcement. (The term “sanctuary” is a general term used to describe a city, county, or state that has policies directing local law enforcement to minimize cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) immigration enforcement actions.)
The new EO directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) and DHS to “publish a list publish a list of States and local jurisdictions that obstruct the enforcement of Federal immigration laws (sanctuary jurisdictions)” and to keep the list updated. The listed jurisdictions will then be notified that they are on the list and of “any potential violations of Federal criminal law.” Some of the possible violations the order lists include obstruction of justice, unlawfully harboring or hiring undocumented immigrants, and conspiracy against the United States and conspiracy to impede federal law enforcement. The Office of Management and Budget is then ordered to identify Federal funds received by those jurisdictions that may be subject to suspension or termination. DHS and DOJ are further tasked with pursuing “all necessary legal remedies and enforcement measures” to get sanctuary jurisdictions to change their policies.
A federal district court judge recently ruled that a previous related EO from Trump which also targeted sanctuary jurisdictions, seeking to prohibit state and local jurisdictions from receiving federal funds, was likely unconstitutional and issued a preliminary injunction that blocks implementation of the EO in the California cities and counties that challenged the EO.
Project 2025 reference: pg.149-50