Power Grab/Fire anyone who can stop him
The Justice Department publishes a list of 35 “sanctuary” jurisdictions and vows more lawsuits, after threatening to prosecute non-cooperating officials
The list carried out an April 2025 executive order. The threat of criminal charges against local officials came first, in a January 2025 memo.
What happened
On August 5, 2025, the Justice Department published a list of 35 “sanctuary” jurisdictions: 12 states, the District of Columbia, 4 counties and 18 cities. Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed to keep suing them to end policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration agents. She said the policies “put American citizens at risk by design.”
The list carried out an April 2025 executive order directing the Justice Department to name obstructing jurisdictions and pursue “all necessary legal remedies.” The order required the department to notify the jurisdictions it named. The department had already sued New York City in July 2025.
The threat of prosecution came first: within days of taking office in January 2025, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove sent a memo threatening to prosecute local officials who refused to comply with federal immigration requests. Republican committee chairs also summoned Democratic mayors and governors to hearings on their policies during 2025.
Who benefited
The White House immigration operation gained a public target list and a litigation program to pressure Democratic-run states and cities into assisting ICE. The Justice Department turned a policy disagreement into a legal and reputational penalty for the named jurisdictions.
Who wanted something
Trump’s April 2025 executive order commanded the list, and Bondi announced it together with the lawsuit campaign. Bove wrote the January prosecution threat. Stephen Miller’s enforcement agenda depends on local police cooperation that these jurisdictions withhold.
Who lost out
Officials in the 35 jurisdictions face federal suits and the stated possibility of criminal charges for following local law. Residents of those places saw their police departments pressed to take on immigration work that local governments had decided undermines public safety and trust.
Why it matters
The Tenth Amendment anti-commandeering rule bars the federal government from forcing states to enforce federal law. Threatening prosecution and publishing target lists pursue the same result without winning that argument in court. The department has sued New York City, and Bondi said more suits will follow.
Sources CBS NewsThe White House (primary)Wikipedia (citing NYT)