Latest news with #immigrationpolicy
The Independent
3 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Trump's list of 'sanctuary jurisdictions' includes some that support his immigration policies
Officials in communities from rural to urban and red to blue blasted the Trump administration's list of 'sanctuary jurisdictions' with many saying they've been outspoken supporters of the president and his stringent immigration policies. Officials who back President Donald Trump 's immigration crackdown questioned how their jurisdictions wound up on a list of more than 500 that the Department of Homeland Security says are obstructing enforcement. Several communities were misspelled, including Cincinnati, which was spelled Cincinnatti. Jim Davel, administrator for Shawano County, Wisconsin, said the inclusion of his heavily Republican community must be a clerical error. 'We have no idea how we got on this list whatsoever right at this point,' Davel said. 'I think it was just a big mix up, probably some paperwork or something." Meanwhile, those with policies protecting immigrants also pushed back, saying they are doing right by their communities. 'This is simply the latest attempt by the Trump administration to strong-arm cities like Seattle into changing our local policies through bluster and threats to critical federal funding for public safety and homelessness,' Bruce Harrell, the city's mayor, told The Associated Press in an email. 'It's not going to work — the law is on our side — and we will not hesitate to protect our people and stand up for our values.' The list was published as the Trump administration ramps up efforts to follow through on the president's campaign promises to remove millions of people who are in the country illegally. It came out as Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced major leadership changes, and after a White House official said the administration wanted to drive daily immigration arrests significantly higher. The administration says each jurisdiction on the list will receive formal notification that the government has deemed them noncompliant and if they're believed to be in violation of any federal criminal statutes. Some communities don't know why they were included The list was compiled using a number of factors, including whether the localities identified themselves as sanctuary jurisdictions, how much they complied with federal officials enforcing immigration laws, if they had restrictions on sharing information with immigration enforcement or had any legal protections for people in the country illegally, according to Homeland Security. But communities said the list doesn't appear to make sense. In California's Orange County, the city of Huntington Beach is on the list even though it has sued the state over its policies that protect immigrants and its City Council supports Trump. But the nearby city of Santa Ana, which has policies to protect members of its sizable immigrant community, is not. In North Dakota, seven mostly small, rural counties wound up on the list, including Slope County, which has about 700 people and overwhelmingly voted for Trump in 2024. County officials reached out to Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong's office to see what steps to take next, and plan to discuss the matter next week with the county state's attorney, County Commission Chairman Scott Ouradnik said. Other communities defend their policies that protect immigrants Communities supportive of immigrants said their policies aren't just about immigrants but all residents by ensuring anyone who is a victim or witness feels they can come forward and report crime. States including California, Illinois and Washington, which have such policies, are on the list. In Hartford, Connecticut, Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said the capital city's laws and policies have enhanced the vibrancy and safety of the community. The city bars people's immigration status from being used to deny city services and police can't arrest people solely because of immigration status. 'While my administration remains laser-focused on real solutions that protect our community, it is clear that current federal policies do not share this commitment to safety and threaten to undermine the gains we have made,' Arulampalam said in a statement. Nithya Nathan-Pineau, an attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, said it's unclear what criteria were used to formulate the list or define the concept of sanctuary nor what legal action the government plans to take against the jurisdictions. 'It seems quite arbitrary because not all of these states or specific jurisdictions have a policy that limits cooperation with ICE,' Nathan-Pineau said. 'It's pretty clear that this is another attempt to intimidate and bully.' What is a sanctuary jurisdiction? There's no clear definition of what a sanctuary jurisdiction is, but the term generally applies to state and local governments that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. It originated in the 1980s with U.S. churches that housed Central Americans who fled civil wars. Last month, Trump signed an executive order requiring the secretary of Homeland Security and the attorney general to publish a list of states and local jurisdictions that they considered to be obstructing federal immigration laws. The list is to be regularly updated. Federal departments and agencies, working with the Office of Management and Budget, would then be tasked with identifying federal grants or contracts with those states or local jurisdictions that the federal government identified as 'sanctuary jurisdictions' and suspending or terminating the money, according to the executive order. ICE, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, enforces immigration laws nationwide. The agency often seeks state and local help in alerting federal authorities of immigrants wanted for deportation and holding them until those authorities are able to take custody. ___ Taxin reported from Santa Ana, California, and Bellisle from Seattle. Associated Press writers Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, David Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, Gisela Salomon in Miami and John O'Connor in Springfield, Illinois, contributed.
Associated Press
3 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
Trump's list of 'sanctuary jurisdictions' includes some that support his immigration policies
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Officials in communities from rural to urban and red to blue blasted the Trump administration's list of 'sanctuary jurisdictions' with many saying they've been outspoken supporters of the president and his stringent immigration policies. Officials who back President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown questioned how their jurisdictions wound up on a list of more than 500 that the Department of Homeland Security says are obstructing enforcement. Several communities were misspelled, including Cincinnati, which was spelled Cincinnatti. Jim Davel, administrator for Shawano County, Wisconsin, said the inclusion of his heavily Republican community must be a clerical error. 'We have no idea how we got on this list whatsoever right at this point,' Davel said. 'I think it was just a big mix up, probably some paperwork or something.' Meanwhile, those with policies protecting immigrants also pushed back, saying they are doing right by their communities. 'This is simply the latest attempt by the Trump administration to strong-arm cities like Seattle into changing our local policies through bluster and threats to critical federal funding for public safety and homelessness,' Bruce Harrell, the city's mayor, told The Associated Press in an email. 'It's not going to work — the law is on our side — and we will not hesitate to protect our people and stand up for our values.' The list was published as the Trump administration ramps up efforts to follow through on the president's campaign promises to remove millions of people who are in the country illegally. It came out as Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced major leadership changes, and after a White House official said the administration wanted to drive daily immigration arrests significantly higher. The administration says each jurisdiction on the list will receive formal notification that the government has deemed them noncompliant and if they're believed to be in violation of any federal criminal statutes. Some communities don't know why they were included The list was compiled using a number of factors, including whether the localities identified themselves as sanctuary jurisdictions, how much they complied with federal officials enforcing immigration laws, if they had restrictions on sharing information with immigration enforcement or had any legal protections for people in the country illegally, according to Homeland Security. But communities said the list doesn't appear to make sense. In California's Orange County, the city of Huntington Beach is on the list even though it has sued the state over its policies that protect immigrants and its City Council supports Trump. But the nearby city of Santa Ana, which has policies to protect members of its sizable immigrant community, is not. In North Dakota, seven mostly small, rural counties wound up on the list, including Slope County, which has about 700 people and overwhelmingly voted for Trump in 2024. County officials reached out to Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong's office to see what steps to take next, and plan to discuss the matter next week with the county state's attorney, County Commission Chairman Scott Ouradnik said. Other communities defend their policies that protect immigrants Communities supportive of immigrants said their policies aren't just about immigrants but all residents by ensuring anyone who is a victim or witness feels they can come forward and report crime. States including California, Illinois and Washington, which have such policies, are on the list. In Hartford, Connecticut, Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said the capital city's laws and policies have enhanced the vibrancy and safety of the community. The city bars people's immigration status from being used to deny city services and police can't arrest people solely because of immigration status. 'While my administration remains laser-focused on real solutions that protect our community, it is clear that current federal policies do not share this commitment to safety and threaten to undermine the gains we have made,' Arulampalam said in a statement. Nithya Nathan-Pineau, an attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, said it's unclear what criteria were used to formulate the list or define the concept of sanctuary nor what legal action the government plans to take against the jurisdictions. 'It seems quite arbitrary because not all of these states or specific jurisdictions have a policy that limits cooperation with ICE,' Nathan-Pineau said. 'It's pretty clear that this is another attempt to intimidate and bully.' What is a sanctuary jurisdiction? There's no clear definition of what a sanctuary jurisdiction is, but the term generally applies to state and local governments that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. It originated in the 1980s with U.S. churches that housed Central Americans who fled civil wars. Last month, Trump signed an executive order requiring the secretary of Homeland Security and the attorney general to publish a list of states and local jurisdictions that they considered to be obstructing federal immigration laws. The list is to be regularly updated. Federal departments and agencies, working with the Office of Management and Budget, would then be tasked with identifying federal grants or contracts with those states or local jurisdictions that the federal government identified as 'sanctuary jurisdictions' and suspending or terminating the money, according to the executive order. ICE, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, enforces immigration laws nationwide. The agency often seeks state and local help in alerting federal authorities of immigrants wanted for deportation and holding them until those authorities are able to take custody. ___ Taxin reported from Santa Ana, California, and Bellisle from Seattle. Associated Press writers Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, David Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, Gisela Salomon in Miami and John O'Connor in Springfield, Illinois, contributed.
CBS News
3 days ago
- General
- CBS News
NYC among 3 dozen Tri-State area cities named on Trump administration's list targeting sanctuary policies
President Trump's executive order to crack down on sanctuary policies names three dozen cities around New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Executive Order 14287: Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens required the list be published to identify sanctuary jurisdictions based on factors like compliance with federal law enforcement, information restrictions and legal protections for migrants who entered the country illegally. The Department of Homeland Security posted the list Friday, alleging these jurisdictions are "deliberately and shamefully obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws endangering American communities." "Sanctuary cities protect dangerous criminal aliens from facing consequences and put law enforcement in peril," the release said. DHS said each jurisdiction will receive a formal notice of its non-compliance with federal statutes, ordering an immediate review and revision of their policies to align with federal immigration laws. The release noted that the list can be changed at any time and will be updated regularly. New York cities on DHS sanctuary list New York State is named on the list, along with a dozen cities, including New York City. Gov. Kathy Hochul is scheduled to answer questions about the state's sanctuary status next month during a House committee hearing on Capitol Hill. Mayor Eric Adams previously joined the mayors of Boston, Chicago and Denver to address the city's policies, as well. Albany Beacon East Hampton Hudson Ithaca Kingston New Paltz New York City Newburgh Poughkeepsie Rochester Syracuse The following 15 counties are also listed for their sanctuary status: Albany, Dutchess, Monroe, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Saratoga, Suffolk, Sullivan, Tompkins, Ulster, Warren, Wayne, Westchester and Yates. New Jersey cities on DHS sanctuary list New Jersey is also on the list, along with 18 cities and Burlington, Cumberland and Warren counties. Last week, the Justice Department sued Newark, Hoboken, Jersey City, Paterson, and their respective mayors, of their sanctuary policies. Asbury Park Bloomfield Camden East Orange Hoboken Jersey City Leonia Linden Maplewood Montclair Township Newark North Bergen Paterson Plainfield Prospect Park South Orange Trenton Union City Connecticut cities on DHS sanctuary list Connecticut is listed along with its Tri-State neighbors and the following six cities: East Haven Hamden Hartford New Haven New London Windham The overall list names cities in three dozen states across the country. By and large, the Trump administration has not been successful challenging sanctuary city laws. Several prior rulings have said the feds cannot use spending powers, or withhold funds, to coerce compliance with immigration laws. Courts have also ruled that state and local governments have autonomy to determine their own policies. contributed to this report.
The Independent
5 days ago
- General
- The Independent
217 days and counting: Trump's rules slow the release of migrant children to their families
Dressed in a pink pullover, the 17-year-old girl rested her head in her hands, weighing her bleak options from the empty room of an shelter in Poughkeepsie, New York. During a video call into an immigration courtroom in Manhattan, she listened as a lawyer explained to a judge how new regulations imposed by President Donald Trump 's administration — for DNA testing, income verification and more — have hobbled efforts to reunite with her parents in the U.S. for more than 70 days. As the administration's aggressive efforts to curtail migration have taken shape, including unparalleled removals of men to prisons in other countries, migrant children are being separated for long periods from the relatives they had hoped to live with after crossing into the U.S. Under the Trump rules, migrant children have stayed in shelters an average of 217 days before being released last month to family members, according to new data from the Health and Human Services Department's Office of Refugee Resettlement. During the Biden administration, migrant children spent an average of 35 days in shelters before being released to relatives. 'Collectively, these policy changes have resulted in children across the country being separated from their loving families, while the government denies their release, unnecessarily prolonging their detention,' lawyers for the National Center for Youth Law argued in court documents submitted May 8. The Trump administration, however, has argued that the new rules will ensure the children are put in safe homes and prevent traffickers from illegally bringing children into the country. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. the health secretary, told lawmakers in Congress this month: 'Nobody gets a kid without showing that they are a family member.' The family situation for the 17-year-old, and her 14-year-old brother who came with her from the Dominican Republic, is complicated. Their parents, who were living apart, were already in the U.S. Their children were trying to reunite with them to leave behind a problematic living situation with a stepmother in their home country. After 70 days in detention, the teen girl seemed to wonder if she would ever get back to her mother or father in the U.S. If she agreed to leave America, she asked the judge, how quickly would she be sent back to her home country? 'Pretty soon,' the judge said, before adding: 'It doesn't feel nice to be in that shelter all the time.' The siblings, whom the Associated Press agreed not to identify at the request of their mother and because they are minors, are not alone. Thousands of children have made the trek from Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico and other countries, often alone on the promise of settling with a family member already in the U.S. They've faced longer waits in federal custody as officials perform DNA testing, verify family members' incomes and inspect homes before releasing the children. The new rules also require adults who sponsor children to provide U.S.-issued identification. The federal government only released 45 children to sponsors last month, even as more than 2,200 children remained in their custody. Child stays in shelter as Trump requires DNA testing Under the Biden administration, officials tried to release children to eligible adult sponsors within 30 days, reuniting many families quickly. But the approach also yielded errors, with some children being released to adults who forced them to work illegally, or to people who provided clearly false identification and addresses. Trump's Republican administration has said its requirements will prevent children from being placed in homes where they may be at risk for abuse or exploited for child labor. Officials are conducting a review of 65,000 'notices of concerns' that were submitted to the federal government involving thousands of children who were placed with adult sponsors since 2023. Already, the Justice Department indicted a man on allegations he enticed a 14-year-old girl to travel from Guatemala to the U.S., then falsely claimed she was his sister to gain custody as her sponsor. DNA testing and ID requirements for child protection are taking time Immigration advocacy groups have sued the Trump administration seeking to block the more rigorous requirements on behalf of parents and adult siblings who are waiting to bring migrant children into their homes. 'We have a lot of children stuck ... simply because they are awaiting DNA testing,' immigration lawyer Tatine Darker, of Church World Service, told the Manhattan judge as she sat next to the Dominican girl. Five other children appeared in court that day from shelters in New York and New England, all saying they experienced delays in being released to their relatives. The Trump administration's latest guidance on DNA testing says the process generally takes at least two weeks, when accounting for case review and shipping results. But some relatives have waited a month or longer just to get a test, said Molly Chew, a legal aide at Vecina. The organization is ending its work supporting guardians in reunification because of federal funding cuts and other legal and political challenges to juvenile immigration programs. DNA Diagnostics Centers, which is conducting the tests for the federal government, did not respond to a request for comment. Plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit filed by the National Center for Youth Law have also cataloged long wait times and slow DNA results. One mother in Florida said she had been waiting at least a month just to get a DNA appointment, according to testimony submitted to the court. Another mother waited three weeks for results. But by the time those came through in April, the Trump administration introduced a new rule that required her to provide pay stubs she doesn't have. She filed bank statements instead. Her children were released 10 weeks after her application was submitted, according to court documents filed Tuesday. Many parents living in the U.S. without work authorization do not have income documents or U.S. identification documents, like visas or driver's licenses. The siblings being held at the Poughkeepsie shelter are in that conundrum, said Darker, the New York immigration lawyer. They crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in March with their 25-year-old sister and her children, who were quickly deported. Their mother said she moved to New Jersey a few years ago to earn money to support them. She couldn't meet the new income reporting requirements. Their father, also from the Dominican Republic, lives in Boston and agreed to take them. But the DNA testing process has taken weeks. The AP could not reach him for comment. She said her children are downcast and now simply want to return to the Dominican Republic. 'My children are going to return because they can't take it anymore,' the mother said in Spanish. She noted that her children will have been in the shelter three months on Sunday.
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Health
- Associated Press
217 days and counting: Trump's rules slow the release of migrant children to their families
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dressed in a pink pullover, the 17-year-old girl rested her head in her hands, weighing her bleak options from the empty room of an shelter in Poughkeepsie, New York. During a video call into an immigration courtroom in Manhattan, she listened as a lawyer explained to a judge how new regulations imposed by President Donald Trump's administration — for DNA testing, income verification and more — have hobbled efforts to reunite with her parents in the U.S. for more than 70 days. As the administration's aggressive efforts to curtail migration have taken shape, including unparalleled removals of men to prisons in other countries, migrant children are being separated for long periods from the relatives they had hoped to live with after crossing into the U.S. Under the Trump rules, migrant children have stayed in shelters an average of 217 days before being released last month to family members, according to new data from the Health and Human Services Department's Office of Refugee Resettlement. During the Biden administration, migrant children spent an average of 35 days in shelters before being released to relatives. 'Collectively, these policy changes have resulted in children across the country being separated from their loving families, while the government denies their release, unnecessarily prolonging their detention,' lawyers for the National Center for Youth Law argued in court documents submitted May 8. The Trump administration, however, has argued that the new rules will ensure the children are put in safe homes and prevent traffickers from illegally bringing children into the country. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. the health secretary, told lawmakers in Congress this month: 'Nobody gets a kid without showing that they are a family member.' The family situation for the 17-year-old, and her 14-year-old brother who came with her from the Dominican Republic, is complicated. Their parents, who were living apart, were already in the U.S. Their children were trying to reunite with them to leave behind a problematic living situation with a stepmother in their home country. After 70 days in detention, the teen girl seemed to wonder if she would ever get back to her mother or father in the U.S. If she agreed to leave America, she asked the judge, how quickly would she be sent back to her home country? 'Pretty soon,' the judge said, before adding: 'It doesn't feel nice to be in that shelter all the time.' The siblings, whom the Associated Press agreed not to identify at the request of their mother and because they are minors, are not alone. Thousands of children have made the trek from Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico and other countries, often alone on the promise of settling with a family member already in the U.S. They've faced longer waits in federal custody as officials perform DNA testing, verify family members' incomes and inspect homes before releasing the children. The new rules also require adults who sponsor children to provide U.S.-issued identification. The federal government only released 45 children to sponsors last month, even as more than 2,200 children remained in their custody. Child stays in shelter as Trump requires DNA testing Under the Biden administration, officials tried to release children to eligible adult sponsors within 30 days, reuniting many families quickly. But the approach also yielded errors, with some children being released to adults who forced them to work illegally, or to people who provided clearly false identification and addresses. Trump's Republican administration has said its requirements will prevent children from being placed in homes where they may be at risk for abuse or exploited for child labor. Officials are conducting a review of 65,000 'notices of concerns' that were submitted to the federal government involving thousands of children who were placed with adult sponsors since 2023. Already, the Justice Department indicted a man on allegations he enticed a 14-year-old girl to travel from Guatemala to the U.S., then falsely claimed she was his sister to gain custody as her sponsor. DNA testing and ID requirements for child protection are taking time Immigration advocacy groups have sued the Trump administration seeking to block the more rigorous requirements on behalf of parents and adult siblings who are waiting to bring migrant children into their homes. 'We have a lot of children stuck ... simply because they are awaiting DNA testing,' immigration lawyer Tatine Darker, of Church World Service, told the Manhattan judge as she sat next to the Dominican girl. Five other children appeared in court that day from shelters in New York and New England, all saying they experienced delays in being released to their relatives. The Trump administration's latest guidance on DNA testing says the process generally takes at least two weeks, when accounting for case review and shipping results. But some relatives have waited a month or longer just to get a test, said Molly Chew, a legal aide at Vecina. The organization is ending its work supporting guardians in reunification because of federal funding cuts and other legal and political challenges to juvenile immigration programs. DNA Diagnostics Centers, which is conducting the tests for the federal government, did not respond to a request for comment. Plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit filed by the National Center for Youth Law have also cataloged long wait times and slow DNA results. One mother in Florida said she had been waiting at least a month just to get a DNA appointment, according to testimony submitted to the court. Another mother waited three weeks for results. But by the time those came through in April, the Trump administration introduced a new rule that required her to provide pay stubs she doesn't have. She filed bank statements instead. Her children were released 10 weeks after her application was submitted, according to court documents filed Tuesday. Many parents living in the U.S. without work authorization do not have income documents or U.S. identification documents, like visas or driver's licenses. The siblings being held at the Poughkeepsie shelter are in that conundrum, said Darker, the New York immigration lawyer. They crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in March with their 25-year-old sister and her children, who were quickly deported. Their mother said she moved to New Jersey a few years ago to earn money to support them. She couldn't meet the new income reporting requirements. Their father, also from the Dominican Republic, lives in Boston and agreed to take them. But the DNA testing process has taken weeks. The AP could not reach him for comment. She said her children are downcast and now simply want to return to the Dominican Republic. 'My children are going to return because they can't take it anymore,' the mother said in Spanish. She noted that her children will have been in the shelter three months on Sunday.
