Sanctuary cities 2.0: Mayors fight back against Trump
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Mayors and local officials aren't just criticizing ICE raids in their cities: They're making life harder for federal law enforcement, while being careful not to go over the line.
Why it matters: The law forbids local leaders from impeding or interfering with federal officers. But cities are finding ways to push back on unwanted immigration enforcement by the Trump administration.
The big picture: Homeland Security officials started broadcasting a plan to target sanctuary jurisdictions from the start of President Trump's second term.
- This has put local leaders — because of the law, past litigation and public sentiment — directly at odds with Trump's mass deportation campaign.
Driving the news: Homeland Security officials are getting a cold shoulder from local leaders as they decamp to New Orleans for "Operation Catahoula Crunch."
- "To be in the country undocumented is civil issue. We will not enforce civil law," said New Orleans Police Department superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick at a recent press conference.
- The local sheriff's office won't allow ICE into its jails to make arrests or use the space for detention, because of a consent decree from a case that started in 2011 and is still being litigated.
- The city council, led by Mayor-elect Helena Moreno, launched a new portal for residents to document instances of potential abuse by federal agents. In an interview with NOLA.com, Moreno accused Border Patrol of "targeting Brown people."
Zoom in: In Minneapolis, bracing for an ICE operation targeting Somali immigrants over visa fraud, Mayor Jacob Frey signed an executive order this week that bans law enforcement agencies "from using any City-owned parking lots, ramps, garages, or vacant lots to stage civil immigration enforcement operations."
- Frey's staff is also sharing a notice template that small businesses or homes can display to deter civil enforcement in private spaces.
The big picture: This is happening city by city.
- In Chicago, where Border Patrol and other federal agents swarmed the city for months this fall, Mayor Brandon Johnson issued a similar ban on using city-owned space for any immigration enforcement operations, called "ICE Free Zones."
- Earlier this year, Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark, New Jersey, worked to block the re-opening of an immigration detention facility, alleging that the building wasn't up to code. He and other demonstrators made a human barricade in front of the building in May.
- Los Angeles County officials approved an emergency declaration that will cover living expenses for people who miss work because they fear immigration raids. It started accepting requests for aid in December.
Between the lines: Cities and states covered by sanctuary laws have learned to prepare for when — not if — ICE targets them. While community organizers are preparing to protest, city officials are also making plans.
- Federal agents have yet to have a city-designated operation in San Francisco. But the local district attorney hatched a plan to charge ICE agents for violating state laws as they carried out arrests, such as violating the statewide ban on agents wearing masks and possible excessive force.
The other side: The Trump administration has swelled the number of deals between ICE and local law enforcement to more than 1,000 agreements across the country.
- That's helped fuel immigration arrests and feed the pipeline for deportations. The Trump team is aiming for a million deportations a year.
The bottom line: New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said he told Trump in their recent meeting that the raids are "cruel and inhumane."
- But Trump and administration officials aren't relenting.
- The Department of Homeland Security posted on social media, days after starting the new operations in Minneapolis and New Orleans: "To the violent rioters and sanctuary politicians: You will not stop us. This administration will not be intimidated."
