Trump administration 'sanctuary jurisdictions' list vanishes after pushback from sheriffs

USA Today

4 days ago

Trump administration 'sanctuary jurisdictions' list vanishes after pushback from sheriffs The president of the National Sheriffs' Association said sheriffs felt 'betrayed' by the list.
Show Caption
Hide Caption
Tallahassee, Florida ICE raid, detained workers speak from bus.
ICE raid took place in Tallahassee, Florida, detained workers speak from bus.
The list, created following a Trump executive order, aimed to identify jurisdictions hindering federal immigration laws and potentially withhold their funding.
Several sheriffs and county officials, including those from Republican-led areas, disputed their inclusion on the list, citing compliance with ICE.
After pushback from sheriffs nationwide, a list of "sanctuary jurisdictions" has disappeared from the Department of Homeland Security's website.
The list was published last week, about a month after President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to create a list of jurisdictions that have been obstructing federal immigration laws. These jurisdictions would risk their federal funds being terminated or suspended.
Greater Cincinnati Republicans were confused after two GOP-controlled counties, Warren County in Ohio and Campbell County in Kentucky, were included on the list.
"We have supported ICE's mission since I took office," Warren County Sheriff Barry K. Riley previously told The Enquirer, part of the USA TODAY Network. "They got this wrong."
An official in Campbell County told The Enquirer their inclusion on the list was a mistake.
Sheriffs and county officials in several other states were also mystified at being deemed noncompliant.
Sheriff Kieran Donahue, president of the National Sheriff's Association, released a statement on May 31 saying sheriffs felt "betrayed" by the list.
"DHS has done a terrible disservice to President Trump and the Sheriffs of this country. The President's goals to reduce crime, secure the Borders, and make America safer have taken a step backward," the statement read. "In a meeting today called by the National Sheriffs' Association (NSA), with members of DHS, no political appointee for the administration could explain who compiled, proofed, and verified the list before publication."
List removed over the weekend
The sheriffs' association called on Homeland Security to immediately share the criteria for the list, take it offline and apologize to sheriffs. The list was removed from Homeland Security's website on June 1, according to the Wayback Machine.
Sheriff's offices have played a major role in the Trump administration's mass deportation effort by supporting ICE. Across the country, including in Southwest Ohio's Butler County, sheriffs have signed contracts with ICE, allowing agents to use their jails to hold detainees.
"This list was created without any input, criteria of compliance, or a mechanism for how to objectto the designation. Sheriffs nationwide have no way to know what they must do or not do toavoid this arbitrary label," the sheriffs' association statement read.
The list, which the association blamed on Homeland Security, said "not only violated the core principles of trust, cooperation, and partnership with fellow law enforcement, but it also has the potential to strain the relationship between Sheriffs and the White House administration … This decision by DHS could create a vacuum of trust that may take years to overcome."
Cincinnati, a Democrat-controlled city, was also included on the now-deleted list. City council did declare Cincinnati a "sanctuary city" in 2017, but the move was symbolic and did not result in any new policies.
After the list was published, Mayor Aftab Pureval told The Enquirer the city would continue to follow federal laws and had not been informed why they were deemed noncompliant.