By Adam Pagnucco.
As expected, the Trump administration has released a list of “sanctuary” jurisdictions that it claims violate federal immigration law and Montgomery County is on it. (MoCo has a lot of company.) The administration has previously threatened to strip such jurisdictions of federal funding. But can it actually do that?
First, let’s review the preamble of the list.
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Sanctuary Jurisdictions Defying Federal Immigration Law
Sanctuary jurisdictions undermine the rule of law and endanger the lives of Americans and Law Enforcement
Executive Order 14287: Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens requires that a list of states and local jurisdictions that obstruct the enforcement of Federal immigration laws (sanctuary jurisdictions) be published. Sanctuary jurisdictions including cities, counties, and states that are deliberately and shamefully obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws endangering American communities. Sanctuary cities protect dangerous criminal aliens from facing consequences and put law enforcement in peril.
The list below was created to identify sanctuary jurisdictions, which are determined by factors like compliance with federal law enforcement, information restrictions, and legal protections for illegal aliens.
Each jurisdiction listed will receive formal notification of its non-compliance with Federal statutes. DHS demands that these jurisdictions immediately review and revise their policies to align with Federal immigration laws and renew their obligation to protect American citizens, not dangerous illegal aliens.
Note that the list can be reviewed and changed at any time and will be updated regularly. No one should act on this information without conducting their own evaluation of the information.
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Here’s a random thought: is there a legal definition of “sanctuary” jurisdiction in federal law? I could be wrong, but I’m not aware of one. How will the courts react to the concept of sanctions against a class of entity that has never been officially defined in federal legislation?
MoCo is on the list of course. We knew it would be after an organization led by Trump henchman Stephen Miller threatened the county back in December. But there are also hundreds of other jurisdictions on the list, including many of the largest cities and counties in the U.S. Consider who is on it just in our region.
District of Columbia
State of Maryland
Maryland Counties
- Anne Arundel County
- Baltimore County
- Charles County
- Howard County
- Montgomery County
- Prince George’s County
- Queen Anne’s County
- Talbot County
Maryland Cities
- Annapolis
- Baltimore City
- Cheverly
- College Park
- Edmonston
- Greenbelt
- Hyattsville
- Mount Rainier
- Rockville
- Tacoma Park (that’s right, they misspelled it!)
Virginia Counties
- Albemarle County
- Amherst County
- Arlington County
- Augusta County
- Brunswick County
- Charlotte County
- Chesterfield County
- Dinwiddie County
- Fairfax County
- Gloucester County
- Halifax County
- Hanover County
- Henrico County
- Martinsville County
- Middlesex County
- Prince William County
- Rappahannock County
- Richmond County
- Tazewell County
- Warren County
Virginia Cities
- Abingdon
- Alexandria
- Charlottesville
- Duffield
- Hampton
- Lynchburg
- Manassas
- Martinsville
- Newport News
- Portsmouth City
- Richmond
- Tazewell
- Virginia Beach
Add to the above similar lists from bigger states like California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania and more and you start to understand how challenging it will be to take them on all at once.
It would be hard for any Justice Department to handle this workload but Trump’s department has been hollowed out by resignations, reassignments and general chaos. The civil rights division, for example, has already lost 70% of its lawyers. Who is left to go after these “sanctuary” jurisdictions, all of which have their own attorneys and legal budgets?
The Trump administration will have to prioritize, singling out a few to intimidate the rest and hopefully get some court victories. MoCo would rank highly on any strategic priority list, owing to its location next to the nation’s capital, its unapologetically progressive elected officials and its extremely close relationship with CASA, one of the country’s most prominent pro-immigrant groups. On top of its many non-competitive contracts with CASA, one of the county government’s top managers is married to CASA’s long-time executive director. This must all seem like a juicy target to any MAGA zealot aware of it.
The Eye of MAGA is looking for a target. Will it be MoCo?
The unsung losers in all of this are the taxpayers, who will be triple-hit with federal legal costs, state and local legal costs and crowded court dockets. The lawyers will litigate, the groups will advocate and we will pay for it – all of it.