The Department of Homeland Security removed a list Sunday that put more than 500 鈥渟anctuary jurisdictions鈥� across the country 鈥� including the state of 海角换妻 and several of its towns 鈥� on notice that the Trump administration views them as obstructing immigration enforcement as it attempts to increase pressure on communities it believes are standing in the way of the president鈥檚 mass deportations agenda.
The list was published Thursday on the department鈥檚 website but on Sunday there was a 鈥淧age Not Found鈥� error message in its place.
鈥淭hese sanctuary city politicians are endangering Americans and our law enforcement in order to protect violent criminal illegal aliens,鈥� DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a press release last week.
The Trump administration has repeatedly targeted communities, states and jurisdictions that it says aren鈥檛 doing enough to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement as it seeks to make good on President Donald Trump鈥檚 campaign promises to remove millions of people in the country illegally.
The list was compiled using a number of factors, including whether the cities or localities identified themselves as sanctuary jurisdictions, how much they complied already with federal officials enforcing immigration laws, if they had restrictions on sharing information with immigration enforcement or had any legal protections for people in the country illegally, according to the department.
In 海角换妻, the list includes the state itself as well as the municipalities of East Haven, Hamden, Hartford, New Haven, New London and Windham.
海角换妻 Gov. Ned Lamont said the state had been 鈥渇alsely labeled.鈥�
鈥�海角换妻鈥檚 Trust Act, which was originally bipartisan, is consistent with federal constitutional standards and reflects sound public safety priorities,鈥� Lamont said in a statement. 鈥淚 am focused on making sure people feel safe in our schools, churches, and elsewhere. Nothing about this makes 海角换妻 a 鈥榮anctuary鈥� in any legal or practical sense 鈥� it makes our state one that upholds the Constitution, respects the rule of law, and prioritizes the safety and well-being of our communities.鈥�
State Attorney General William Tong said in a statement that 海角换妻 was in full compliance with federal immigration law.
鈥淭here is nothing in our laws or statutes that says 海角换妻 is a 鈥榮anctuary鈥� state. We are not. That is a meaningless term,鈥� Tong said. 鈥淚t is the policy of the State of 海角换妻 to respect, honor and protect immigrants and immigrant families in compliance with the law.鈥�
New London Mayor Michael Passero said his city, too, was not a 鈥渟anctuary jurisdiction,鈥� and that he believed New London was mistakenly included on the list.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 particularly support the current administration鈥檚 immigration policies. I don鈥檛 believe the city, on the whole, supports those immigration policies,鈥� Passero said. 鈥淏ut I also believe we operate completely within the law and respect the rule of law.鈥�
At a Friday afternoon press conference at New Haven City Hall, Mayor Justin Elicker said the designation was expected and he was 鈥減roud of it.鈥�
鈥淣ew Haven is proudly a welcoming city,鈥� Elicker said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one of our defining characteristics and values.鈥�
鈥淭he Trump administration is trying to extort local communities to implement his cruel agenda,鈥� Elicker said. 鈥淲e will be no part of it.鈥�
Responding to the Homeland Security charge that New Haven and other jurisdictions on the list were 鈥渟hamefully obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws,鈥� Elicker said that wasn鈥檛 true.
鈥淭he only thing that is shameful is President Trump,鈥� Elicker said.
Trump April 28 requiring the secretary of Homeland Security and the attorney general to publish a list of states and local jurisdictions that they considered to be obstructing federal immigration laws. The list is to be regularly updated.
Federal departments and agencies, working with the Office of Management and Budget, would then be tasked with identifying federal grants or contracts with those states or local jurisdictions that the federal government identified as 鈥渟anctuary jurisdictions鈥� and suspending or terminating the money, according to the executive order.
If 鈥渟anctuary jurisdictions鈥� are notified and the Trump administration determines that they 鈥渞emain in defiance,鈥� the attorney general and the secretary of Homeland Security are then empowered to pursue whatever 鈥渓egal remedies and enforcement measures鈥� they consider necessary to make them comply.
There鈥檚 no specific or legal definition of what constitutes a 鈥渟anctuary jurisdiction.鈥� The term is often used to refer to law enforcement agencies, states or communities that don鈥檛 cooperate with immigration enforcement.
ICE enforces immigration laws nationwide, but often seeks state and local help in alerting federal authorities of immigrants wanted for deportation and holding that person until federal officers take custody.
One way that the administration seeks to enlist state and local support is with local law enforcement agencies. Those agreements allow local law enforcement agencies to assume some immigration enforcement duties and greatly expand ICE鈥檚 capabilities. The number of those agreements has skyrocketed in just a matter of months under the Trump administration.
ICE has about 6,000 law enforcement officers 鈥� a number that has remained largely static for years 鈥� who are able to find, arrest and remove immigrants it is targeting. By relying on local law enforcement, it can quickly scale up the number of staff available to help carry out Trump鈥檚 mass deportations agenda.
Communities that don鈥檛 cooperate with ICE often say they do so because immigrants then feel safer coming forward if they鈥檙e a witness to or victim of a crime. And they argue that immigration enforcement is a federal task, and they need to focus their limited dollars on fighting crime.
鈥淪anctuary policies are legal and make us all safer,鈥� said a coalition of local officials from across the country and a nonprofit called Public Rights Project in a statement Thursday. They said the list was a fear tactic designed to bully local governments into cooperating with ICE.
The Trump administration has already taken a number of steps targeting states and communities that don鈥檛 cooperate with ICE 鈥� and in the courts. One executive order issued by Trump directs the Attorney General and Homeland Security Secretary to withhold federal money from sanctuary jurisdictions. Another directs federal agencies to ensure that payments to state and local governments do not 鈥渁bet so-called 鈥榮anctuary鈥� policies that seek to shield illegal aliens from deportation.鈥�
海角换妻鈥檚 Chris Polansky contributed to this report.
