President Donald Trump has signed a sweeping new executive order aimed directly at sanctuary cities, putting local jurisdictions on notice: cooperate with federal immigration law or lose federal funding.
The order directs the Department of Justice to compile a comprehensive list of cities and states that refuse to comply with federal immigration enforcement. Once identified, these jurisdictions will face the suspension or elimination of federal funds until they reverse their sanctuary policies. The order explicitly states that the refusal of local officials to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration law amounts to a “lawless insurrection” against the constitutional authority of the United States.
“The invasion at the southern border requires immediate federal action,” Trump said. “But some state and local officials are choosing to obstruct, violate, and defy the law. That stops now.”
The executive order also instructs the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to block federal benefits from being distributed to illegal immigrants in sanctuary cities. Agencies are further directed to review and challenge any state or local laws that shield illegal aliens at the expense of public safety and federal enforcement.
The White House pointed to several egregious examples of sanctuary jurisdictions putting citizens at risk. In Massachusetts, local authorities refused to hold multiple illegal immigrants accused of sexually assaulting children. In Philadelphia, officials ignored an ICE detainer for a Honduran national, who went on to rape a child after his release.
Earlier this month, President Trump referred to sanctuary jurisdictions as “death traps,” vowing that federal resources would no longer support areas that endanger their own citizens. “They protect the criminals, not the victims,” Trump wrote. “No more sanctuary cities. They are disgracing our country and being mocked all over the world.”
While some blue cities have doubled down on their sanctuary status, others are beginning to reverse course. New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently reversed a policy banning ICE from accessing the Rikers Island jail complex. Under the new approach, ICE will be allowed back into the facility to assist in targeting gang members and violent criminals. Adams clarified that cooperation would focus on criminal—not civil—immigration enforcement.
Trump’s executive order marks a decisive escalation in the fight against sanctuary policies and represents a return to law-and-order priorities that place the safety of American citizens above political correctness.