Washington – The Department of Homeland Security’s website no longer features a highly anticipated list of “sanctuary jurisdictions” following extensive criticism. The list came under fire for including localities that have actively supported the Trump administration’s strict immigration policies.
The department had initially published the list last week, identifying jurisdictions that were deemed uncooperative with federal immigration enforcement and potentially in violation of federal criminal statutes.
The list was published Thursday on the department’s website but on Sunday there was a “Page Not Found” error message in its place.
This list was a component of the Trump administration’s initiatives aiming to target communities, states, and jurisdictions that it alleges are not adequately assisting in its immigration enforcement efforts, in line with the president’s pledge to deport over 11 million individuals residing 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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