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Yahoo
6 hours ago
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- Yahoo
Federal list of ‘sanctuary jurisdictions' leaders said erroneously included Hampton Roads cities deleted after criticism
The webpage for a Department of Homeland Security list of localities it said were in violation of federal immigration law was taken down over the weekend following statements by Hampton Roads officials that their respective cities were included on the list in error. The page was created Thursday at with the header 'Sanctuary Jurisdictions Defying Federal Immigration Law.' By Sunday, the page had been deleted. The original page stated it would be continuously updated and that the jurisdictions listed would receive formal notice of their noncompliance. It also included a 'demand' that these jurisdictions immediately review and revise their policies to align with federal immigration laws. Virginia Beach, Hampton, Portsmouth, Newport News and Gloucester County were included on the list of localities that, the page read, 'are deliberately and shamefully obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws endangering American communities' and protecting 'dangerous criminal aliens from facing consequences and put law enforcement in peril.' Hampton Roads cities accused by Homeland Security of obstructing federal immigration officials Spokespersons for Virginia Beach, Gloucester County and Hampton said in emailed statements to The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press that they were included on the list in error. Thirty-three Virginia localities were included on the list, including Richmond and Fairfax County, which has the largest population in the state. It also includes areas that voted heavily in favor of Trump in the 2024 election, including Gloucester and Middlesex counties on the Middle Peninsula. National Sheriff's Association President Sheriff Kieran Donahue on Saturday said the list 'lacks transparency and accountability' and 'could create a vacuum of trust that may take years to overcome.' 'This list was created without any input, criteria of compliance, or a mechanism for how to object to the designation,' Donahue's statement reads. 'Sheriffs nationwide have no way to know what they must do or not do to avoid this arbitrary label. The completion and publication of this list has 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.' Gavin Stone, 757-712-4806,
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
‘We're not sanctuary cities': WMass mayors push back at feds over DHS target list
SPRINGFIELD — With the Department of Homeland Security now cracking down on 'sanctuary jurisdictions,' leaders in targeted cities in Western Massachusetts are urging the president to reconsider or, in some cases, to check his facts. Springfield, Amherst, Northampton and Holyoke made the new DHS 'sanctuary jurisdiction' list, as well as Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire counties. After learning of the new list, local municipal leaders pushed back at the federal administration. 'I've always maintained we are not a sanctuary city. I vetoed a City Council vote to make us a sanctuary, and the council overrode it,' said Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno. 'I'm all for legal immigration. I'm first generation. But there used to be an orderly process,' he said, referring to his parents. 'The federal government walked away from this process and left it to cities and states.' Springfield, instead, has a 'welcoming city' ordinance that looks a whole lot like a sanctuary city rule — primarily prohibiting city police from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations that have ramped up under President Donald J. Trump. He made a campaign vow to clamp down on undocumented immigrants. The list was published Wednesday on Homeland Security's website and breaks down its targets by state, county and city. In Massachusetts, there are a dozen communities on the list: Amherst Boston Cambridge Chelsea Concord Holyoke Lawrence Newton Northampton Orleans Somerville Springfield 'Was I surprised we were on the hit list? No. But I'm hoping President Trump and his team will take another look at Springfield's history and my leadership in particular on this issue,' Sarno said during an interview Friday. Massachusetts as a whole makes the sanctuary list, probably, because of the Lunn decision, a 2017 court case that bars police from taking people into custody over a civil offense, said Sarang Sekhavat, chief of staff for the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. Homeland Security's list of a dozen Massachusetts communities doesn't match up with Northeastern University's comprehensive list of sanctuary communities, he noted. '(It's) wonky,' Sekhavat said. 'People are really wondering where they came up with this list.' Massachusetts counties don't have governments of their own, for instance. And in Virginia, one conservative leaning county made the list because it proclaims itself as a gun-friendly '2nd Amendment Sanctuary' on its website, Sekhavat said. 'If the consequences of this weren't so serious, it would be ridiculous and worthy of mockery,' he said. The list came on the heels of Trump's executive order late last month to produce a list of immigrant-friendly communities. The list released two days ago said it is a matter of public safety. The list is labeled as Sanctuary Jurisdictions Defying Federal Immigration Law, and posits the following: 'Sanctuary cities protect dangerous criminal aliens from facing consequences and put law enforcement in peril,' read a statement from Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. The list also came the same day Amherst town officials confirmed the arrests of two people by ICE on May 28. 'The town of Amherst and the Amherst Police Department did not participate in either of these incidents and have not participated in any federal immigration enforcement actions that have occurred. ICE operated independently from the town with no prior notification. No additional information is available at this time,' a statement from the town manager read. It's unclear whether the list will have any teeth. It includes no directives other than a pledge to send letters to towns and cities that appear to be immigrant-friendly. A federal judge in California ruled the Trump administration is not constitutionally allowed to limit federal funding to states and cities that have opposing politics. 'The town of Amherst is a sanctuary community and as such shall not cooperate with ICE,' the statement continued. In Holyoke, Mayor Joshua A. Garcia said the definition of a sanctuary city is murky. 'There is no universally accepted definition of a 'sanctuary city,' and if one exists, Holyoke should not be considered one. Nowhere in my executive order does the word 'sanctuary' appear. The order simply directs our police officers to follow the law and not act as federal immigration agents. If it is the case where an individual poses a legitimate public safety concern, such as being charged with or convicted of a serious or violent crime, they could be held longer on a detainer,' he said. Garcia in January sent out strong statements, urging support for immigrants. He worries that undocumented immigrants might fear calling police in emergencies, given the national climate. 'As mayor, my responsibility is to keep everyone in Holyoke safe, residents and visitors alike. We cannot afford to have anyone afraid to call 911 or help police because they fear deportation. Public safety depends on trust, communication and cooperation, and that is exactly what we are working to protect,' Garcia said in the statement. ICE sweeps have been scattered in Western Massachusetts, and the federal agency has been largely cloak-and-dagger about its operations, rejecting media inquiries. In Northampton, Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra revived a statement she released in November. 'The enforcement of federal immigration laws is outside the authority of local law enforcement, and Northampton has a long-standing policy of non-cooperation with such actions to the extent permissible by law,' she said. A chief of staff said Sciarra had no further comment. Staff writer Jim Kinney contributed to this report. Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
‘There will be repercussions' Homeland Security official targets Nashville mayor over immigration
Agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency reach into a car to pull Edgardo David Campos out on May 9, 2025 in Nashville. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout) Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell continued to serve as a social media target for federal officials Thursday over his response to the mass detainments of immigrants in Nashville earlier this month. On Thursday a Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs accused O'Connell of 'harboring' immigrants without legal status and 'doxxing' immigration enforcement agents — echoing comments made by Tennessee 5th District Congressman Andy Ogles the day before. 'It certainly looks like Mayor O'Connell was involved in some sort of obstruction or the harboring of criminal illegal aliens in the great city of Nashville,' Tricia McLaughlin said in a media interview posted on the official X account of the Department of Homeland Security. 'But also just last night his office put out the names of Homeland Security investigators and doxxed our ICE enforcement officers,' she said. 'They claimed it was a mistake. There's zero chance it was a mistake and there will be repercussions.' Late Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security published a list of cities, counties and states across the nation it said were 'deliberately and shamefully obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws endangering American communities.' The list came with this demand that 'these jurisdictions immediately review and revise their policies to align with Federal immigration laws and renew their obligation to protect American citizens, not dangerous illegal aliens.' Nashville and Shelby County in west Tennessee, the county seat of Memphis, appear on the list, which was entitled 'Sanctuary Jurisdictions Violating Federal Immigration Law.' Neither Nashville nor Shelby County have adopted so-called sanctuary city policies, which are barred under Tennessee law. The accusations against O'Connell center on a longstanding executive order requiring city departments to report interactions with immigration officials. O'Connell revised the order in early May to require the reporting to take place within 24 hours. U.S. border czar: Nashville mayor, a critic of immigration sweeps, now faces investigation The revision took place in the midst of a joint operation by the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which led to the detainment of nearly 200 immigrants during traffic stops in South Nashville, a diverse neighborhood that is home to many of the city's immigrant communities. The majority of those detained had no criminal records. The mayor's order requires all emergency and some non-emergency city agencies and officials to report any interaction with federal immigration to the Mayor's Office of New and Indigenous Americans, a department created to foster civic participation. The department posted a spreadsheet with summaries of the interactions on its website. As of Wednesday, there were 35 interactions reported between city officials and immigration authorities in May. One entry identified an ICE analyst by first name. Two others listed the full names of Homeland Security Investigations officials. A fourth entry listed the full name of an immigration supervisor. By Thursday morning, the names had been removed from the city's website. A statement from the mayor's office said the names had been posted in error. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 'dragnet' in Nashville results in detentions 'It is not the normal practice to include the names of individuals in EO30 (the executive order) reporting. Any names mistakenly included have been removed.' Questions to the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday to clarify McLaughlin's comments about 'repercussions' for the mayor's actions went unanswered. The public comments about O'Connell by federal officials came a day after the announcement by White House 'border czar' Tom Homan that — as a result of O'Connell's public stance against the mass enforcement actions — multi-agency immigration crackdowns could soon return to Nashville. 'We'll flood the zone in the neighborhoods to find the bad guy. We'll flood the zone at work sites to find the bad guy, but we're going to do it, and he's (O'Connell) not going to stop us,' said Homan, the White House executive director of enforcement and removal operations. Earlier this week, Ogles held a press conference to denounce O'Connell, a Democrat, for 'aiding and abetting illegal immigration.' Ogles accused the Nashville mayor of obstructing the work of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, citing O'Connell's public statements and executive order. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
