The Department of Homeland Security has released a list of hundreds of sanctuary communities that it alleges are “deliberately and shamefully obstructing” the Trump administration’s deportation efforts.
A list of 500 sanctuary jurisdictions, which includes towns, countries, and states across the United States, was uploaded to the department’s website on Thursday as the administration increased pressure on municipalities.
“These sanctuary city politicians are endangering Americans and our law enforcement in order to protect violent criminal illegal aliens,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated.
“Sanctuary jurisdictions including cities, counties, and states that are deliberately and shamefully obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws endangering American communities,” according to the agency. “Sanctuary cities protect dangerous criminal aliens from facing consequences and put law enforcement in peril.”
However, many officials reacted angrily after being named to the list, stating they were outspoken supporters of the president and his strict immigration policies.
According to the department, the list was compiled based on a number of factors, including whether the cities or localities identified themselves as sanctuary jurisdictions, how much they already complied with federal officials enforcing immigration laws, whether they had restrictions on sharing information with immigration enforcement, and whether they provided any legal protections for people in the country illegally.
Jim Davel, the administrator for Shawano County, Wisconsin, believes the inclusion of his largely Republican community was a technical error.
“We have no idea how we got on this list whatsoever right at this point,” Mr. Davel stated. “I think it was just a big mix up, probably some paperwork or something.”
However, communities have stated that the list does not appear to make sense. Huntington Beach, in California’s Orange County, is on the list despite having sued the state over its immigration laws and having a City Council that supports Trump. However, the adjoining city of Santa Ana, which has regulations in place to protect its significant immigrant population, is not.
Others were perplexed as to how they ended up on the list, but insisted that they welcomed immigration.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott stated on X that his city is “not a sanctuary city,” saying that city leaders do not have power over the community’s jails. Jails are a crucial location where ICE works with local law enforcement to notify federal agents when immigrants are freed.
“But we are a welcoming city,” Scott explained. “And we don’t apologize for that. We are better because of our immigrant neighbors, and we will not sell them out to this administration.
The Las Vegas government claimed it was listed on the list owing to a “misunderstanding.”
“The city of Las Vegas has never designated itself as a sanctuary city,” the statement read. “We are unsure why DHS classified Las Vegas in the manner it did. We intend to speak with those at the federal level to clear up this misunderstanding.
Immigrant rights organizations denounced the administration’s actions as “unconstitutional and immoral.”
According to Jessica Inez Martínez, director of policy and coalition building at New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, referring to sanctuary policies as ‘lawless insurrection’ is not only incendiary, but also a dangerous distortion of the rule of law.