MI City Named 'Sanctuary Jurisdiction' By DOJ

MICHIGAN — A Michigan community is among a group of cities, states and counties that the Department of Justice says have laws in place that impede enforcement of federal immigration laws, and thus put Americans at risk.

East Lansing, where the city council voted in 2023 to become a sanctuary city, is the only Michigan city on the list. A May list also showed Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo, Kent, Oakland, Washtenaw County, Wayne County and Wexford counties. That original list was quickly removed from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security website.

"Sanctuary policies impede law enforcement and put American citizens at risk by design," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a news release Tuesday. "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."

According to Executive Order 14287 — which was signed by President Donald Trump signed the order in late April and titled "Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens" — East Lansing is one of the entities that "continue to use their authority to violate, obstruct, and defy the enforcement of Federal immigration laws."

The order says it is "imperative that the Federal Government restore the enforcement of United States law."

Part of the order also names sanctuary jurisdictions it says flouts federal immigration law, East Lansing included. As such, the DOJ has filed several lawsuits against these jurisdictions to force them into compliance with federal immigration laws.

Federal authorities said they will help any jurisdiction that wants to be removed from this list by identifying and eliminating their sanctuary policies.

The government lists nine characteristics of sanctuary jurisdictions. They are:

1. Public Declarations — Cities, states, or counties that publicly declare themselves a sanctuary jurisdiction or equivalent, with the intent to undermine federal immigration enforcement.
2. Laws, Ordinances, Executive Directives — Cities, states, or counties that have laws, ordinances, regulations, resolutions, policies, or other formalized practices that obstruct or limit local law enforcement cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
3. Restrictions on Information Sharing — Cities, states, or counties that limit whether and how local agencies share information about immigration status of detainees with federal authorities.
4. Funding Restrictions — Cities, states, or counties that prohibit local funds or resources from being used to support federal immigration enforcement efforts.
5. Non-cooperation with Federal Immigration Enforcement — Cities, states, or counties that provide training to city employees and police on enforcing sanctuary policies and declining to respond to ICE requests for information.
6. Limits on ICE Detainers — Cities, states, or counties that refuse to honor ICE detainer requests unless there is a warrant signed by a judge.
7. Jail Access Restrictions — Cities, states, or counties that restrict ICE agents’ ability to interview detainees absent detainee consent.
8. Immigrant Community Affairs Offices — Cities, states, or counties that create dedicated offices to engage and advise illegal alien communities on evading federal law enforcement officers.
9. Federal Benefit Programs — Cities, states, or counties that circumvent federal laws prohibiting the provision of federal benefits to illegal aliens and provide them with access to benefits, including health care assistance, legal aid, food and housing assistance, and other subsidies. This includes cities, states, or counties that establish stand-alone benefit programs or equivalents.

Below are jurisdictions on the list:
Cities

• 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
• San Francisco City, CA

Counties

• Baltimore County, MD
• Cook County, IL
• San Diego County, CA
• San Francisco County, CA

States

• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• District of Columbia
• Illinois
• Minnesota
• Nevada
• New York
• Oregon
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Washington