At least 32 state and local officials are pushing back against threats from the U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi that these locally elected officials could face criminal prosecution and their jurisdictions could be stripped of all federal funding if they fail to abolish any “sanctuary” immigration policies.
Bob Ferguson, the Governor of Washington State, responded to Bondi in a letter that his state, “will not be bullied or intimidated by threats and legally baseless accusations.” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker noted that federal courts had repeatedly upheld an Illinois law that restricts state law enforcement involvement in immigration enforcement, adding that the primary focus of Illinois state and local police is fighting crime and on that, they routinely cooperate with federal law enforcement. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said at a press conference, “Boston follows the law, and Boston will not back down from who we are and what we stand for.” Several media report that many of these local officials plan to coordinate a more unified response.
They are responding to Bondi’s nearly identical form letter sent on August 13 to 12 governors, 19 mayors, and 4 county leaders. These leaders found that Bondi’s letter does not identify their jurisdiction by name nor does it identify any offending laws. The letter simply states, “You are hereby notified that your jurisdiction has been identified as one that engages in sanctuary policies....” Bondi insisted on cooperation from state and local officials, including access to law enforcement facilities and, in some cases, officers.
This campaign stems from President Donald Trump’s April 28 Executive Order 14287 which called for compiling a list of state and local jurisdictions that did not sufficiently assist with federal immigration enforcement. On May 30 a list was posted on a federal website citing 500 states, counties, cities, police departments, sheriff’s offices, and other entities, which did not meet their demands. Within hours this list of 500 jurisdictions was removed from the website, after cities and law enforcement complained. The list has changed, but the current list contains 32 jurisdictions.
