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The DOJ said it will continue bringing legislation against the municipalities to eradicate sanctuary policies.
The Department of Justice on Tuesday published a list of states, cities, and counties that it labeled as “sanctuary jurisdictions,” pledging to bring litigation against the identified communities if local policies are not changed.
Boston, which made a similar list from the Department of Homeland Security in May that also included Massachusetts as a whole, was among the cities singled out on Tuesday. Massachusetts was absent from the list of states on Tuesday’s list, but Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont were included among the 13 “sanctuary” states.
Four counties and 18 cities across the country were also listed as “having policies, laws, or regulations that impede enforcement of federal immigration laws,” the Department of Justice said in a statement.
“Sanctuary policies impede law enforcement and put American citizens at risk by design,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “The Department of Justice will continue bringing litigation against sanctuary jurisdictions and work closely with the Department of Homeland Security to eradicate these harmful policies around the country.”
An executive order signed by President Donald Trump in April directed the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security to publish the list of so-called sanctuary jurisdictions.
There is no single definition of what it means to be a “sanctuary” jurisdiction, but the term generally refers to municipalities where there are limits on how much local officials can cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
In Boston, the city’s Trust Act directs the Boston Police Department to collaborate with ICE only on issues of significant public safety importance, like cases of child exploitation and human trafficking. The law was originally enacted in 2014, amended in 2019, and reaffirmed by the City Council last year.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s office did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment about the city’s inclusion on the list. Gov. Maura Healey’s office also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The governor has been adamant in the stance that Massachusetts is not a sanctuary state.
The Department of Justice noted with the release of the list on Tuesday that it has already filed lawsuits against some municipalities, including New York City. The department said it will update the list and “assist any jurisdiction that desires to be taken off this list to identify and eliminate their sanctuary policies, so they no longer stand in opposition to federal immigration enforcement.”
Below, the list as released by the Department of Justice on Tuesday:
States:
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- Nevada
- New York
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Washington
Counties:
- Baltimore County, MD
- Cook County, IL
- San Diego County, CA
- San Francisco County, CA
Cities
- San Francisco City, CA
- Albuquerque, NM
- Berkeley, CA
- Boston, MA
- Chicago, IL
- Denver, CO
- East Lansing, MI
- Hoboken, NJ
- Jersey City, NJ
- Los Angeles, CA
- New Orleans, LA
- New York City, NY
- Newark, NJ
- Paterson, NJ
- Philadelphia, PA
- Portland, OR
- Rochester, NY
- Seattle, WA
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