Sanctuary City
“Sanctuary city” is used like it means “immigration law doesn’t apply here.” In practice, it’s about local cooperation choices: custody time, information sharing, and whether local agencies do federal enforcement work.
Definition
A sanctuary city (or sanctuary jurisdiction) is a city or county that limits how its agencies cooperate with federal immigration enforcement—especially around detention holds, information sharing, and deputized enforcement roles.
Technical meaning vs common usage
Technical: a set of operational policies governing data sharing, custody/hold practices, and local agency roles in federal immigration enforcement.
Common usage: a place where immigration laws are ignored or unenforced.
How the term gets stretched or misused
The term gets distorted when:
“non-cooperation” is treated as “blocking” federal enforcement
very different policies (detainers vs data vs 287(g)) are lumped into one label
it’s used as a moral verdict instead of a governance design
Where the power sits
The levers are specific:
County jails/sheriffs: detainers, hold requests, release timing
Local policymakers: what staff can ask, record, share (and when)
Federal-local partnerships (e.g., 287(g)): whether local officers do federal immigration functions
Courts: whether a request has judicial force vs administrative pressure
This does not mean…
Legal status is granted.
Federal agencies can’t enforce federal law.
All sanctuary jurisdictions use the same rules.
Why precision matters
If “sanctuary” is treated as a vibe word, people argue about the wrong thing. Precision forces the audit question: what changed in custody time, information flow, and enforcement responsibility—and who controls each lever?
Neutrality note
This explains the mechanism and decision points without endorsing or opposing sanctuary policies.
Related HISW
Words Matter: Jurisdiction; Federalism; Deportation; Undocumented
Sources
These sources explain what “sanctuary” policies are, how federal–local authority is divided, and where cooperation limits are legally grounded.
Congressional Research Service — “Sanctuary” Jurisdictions: Legal Overview (2025) https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/LSB/PDF/LSB11321/LSB11321.1.pdf
U.S. Supreme Court — Arizona v. United States (2012) https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/11-182b5e1.pdf
U.S. Department of Justice — Memorandum on Federal Grant Conditions and Sanctuary Jurisdictions (2017) https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/991316/download
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — 287(g) Program Overview (current) https://www.ice.gov/identify-and-arrest/287g
National Conference of State Legislatures — Sanctuary Policies: What They Are and How They Work (current) https://www.ncsl.org/immigration/sanctuary-policies-what-they-are-and-how-they-work