BURSTAttorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday said she was ramping up pressure on 32 “sanctuary jurisdictions,” urging them to comply with federal immigration enforcement efforts.
“I just sent Sanctuary City letters to 32 mayors around the country and multiple governors saying, you better be abiding by our federal policies and with our federal law enforcement, because if you aren't, we're going to come after you,” she told a Fox News reporter.
“And they have, I think, a week to respond to me, so let's see who responds and how they respond. It starts at the top, and our leaders have to support our law enforcement,” she added.
The measure comes after an Aug. 5 release from the Justice Department highlighting various states, cities, and counties deemed non-compliant with regulations that impede enforcement of federal immigration laws.
“For too long, so-called sanctuary jurisdiction policies have undermined this necessary cooperation and obstructed federal immigration enforcement, giving aliens cover to perpetrate crimes in our communities and evade the immigration consequences that federal law requires…,” Bondi wrote in the letter to officials across the country.
“Any sanctuary jurisdiction that continues to put illegal aliens ahead of American citizens can either come to the table or see us in court,” Bondi wrote in the post announcing the move.
She cited a late April executive order for President Trump as legal grounds for the push.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for the 32 jurisdictions that received letters from Bondi.
The below jurisdictions received a letter from the DOJ on Aug. 5:
STATES:
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- Nevada
- New York
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Washington
COUNTIES:
- Baltimore County, Md.
- Cook County, Ill.
- San Diego County, Calif.
- San Francisco County, Calif.
CITIES:
- Albuquerque, NM
- Berkeley, Calif.
- Boston, Mass.
- Chicago, Ill.
- Denver, Colo.
- East Lansing, Mich.
- Hoboken, NJ
- Jersey City, NJ
- Los Angeles, Calif.
- New Orleans, La.
- New York City, NY
- Newark, NJ
- Paterson, NJ
- Philadelphia, Pa.
- Portland, Ore.
- Rochester, NY
- Seattle, Wash.
- San Francisco City, Calif.