FILE - Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, file)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A widely anticipated list of “ sanctuary jurisdictions” no longer appears on the Department of Homeland Security’s website after receiving widespread criticism for including localities that have actively supported the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies.
The department last week published the list of the jurisdictions. It said each one would receive formal notification the government deemed them uncooperative with federal immigration enforcement and whether they’re believed to be in violation of any federal criminal statutes.
Ramsey Billings, Golden Valley, Grant, Morton, Ramsey, Sioux, and Slope Counties in North Dakota were among those listed. Ramsey County Sheriff Bryan Lang says Ramsey County is not a Sanctuary Jurisdiction and has no intention of becoming one.
“Ramsey County will continue to follow local, state and federal law, and enforce both criminal and immigration laws to the fullest extent,” Lang said. “The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department has always and will continue to share information with our federal partners pertaining to illegal aliens and other criminal matters. The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department has worked closely with Homeland Security, I.C.E. and Border Patrol. We have assisted our Federal Partners where illegal aliens have been identified and arrested in the past. The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department has always had a good working relationship with our federal partners and plan on continuing the working relationship into the future. The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department DOES NOT provide legal protections for illegal aliens. In fact, in 2023, the North Dakota legislators passed legislation that banned cities and counties from passing sanctuary jurisdiction policies.”
The list was published Thursday on the department’s website but on Sunday there was a “Page Not Found” error message in its place.
The list was part of the Trump administration’s efforts to target communities, states and jurisdictions that it says aren’t doing enough to help its immigration enforcement agenda and the promises the president made to deport more than 11 million people living in the U.S. without legal authorization.
The list is being constantly reviewed and can be changed at any time and will be updated regularly, a DHS senior official said.
“Designation of a sanctuary jurisdiction is based on the evaluation of numerous factors, including self-identification as a Sanctuary Jurisdiction, noncompliance with Federal law enforcement in enforcing immigration laws, restrictions on information sharing, and legal protections for illegal aliens,” the official said in a statement.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that there had been anger from some officials about the list. However, she didn’t address why it was removed.
“Some of the cities have pushed back,” Noem said. “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.”
The list, which was riddled with misspellings, received pushback from officials in communities spanning from urban to rural and blue to red who said the list doesn’t appear to make sense.
In California, the city of Huntington Beach made the list even though it had filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s immigration sanctuary law and passed a resolution this year declaring the community a “non-sanctuary city.”
Jim Davel, administrator for Shawano County, Wisconsin, said the inclusion of his community must have been a clerical error. Davel voted for Trump as did 67% of Shawano County.
Davel thinks the administration may have confused the county’s vote in 2021 to become a “Second Amendment Sanctuary County” that prohibits gun control measures with it being a safe haven for immigrants. He said the county has approved no immigration sanctuary policies.
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