Immigration Law: Sanctuary Cities

Skip to Main Content

1. Franklin County Law Library
2. LibGuides
3. Immigration Law
4. Sanctuary Cities

Search this Guide Search Immigration Law: Sanctuary Cities

• Introduction
• US Constitution
• Executive Orders
• Immigration Laws Toggle Dropdown
  • Federal Legislative History
• Immigration Regulations
• Case Law
• Agency Decisions Toggle Dropdown
  • Executive Office of Immigration Review
  • US Citizenship and Immigration Services
  • Board of Alien Labor Certification
• Agency Guidance Toggle Dropdown
  • USCIS Guidance
  • Executive Office of Immigration Review Guidance
  • Department of State Guidance
  • Treaties
  • Department of Homeland Security Guidance
  • HHS, Office of Refugee Settlement
  • Department of Labor Guidance
  • ICE
• Arrests, Detentions & Deportations
• Asylum Law Toggle Dropdown
  • Children in Custody
  • Migrant Protection Protocols
  • Safe Third Country Agreements
  • Treaties
  • Withholding of Removal
• Citizenship Resources
• Crimes and Consequences of Criminal Convictions
• DACA
• Deferred Enforced Departure
• E-Verify
• Finding Immigration Legal Advice
• Free International Law Websites
• Green Card Basics Toggle Dropdown
  • Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery
  • EB Visas
  • Fiance Green Card
  • Green Card through Asylee or Refugee Status
  • Green Card through Employer
  • Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens
  • Special Immigrant visas
  • Special Visas for Victims of Crime
• Guest Workers
• Immigration CLE
• In the News
• Intercountry Adoption of Children
• Passports & Visitors Visas
• Refugee Law Toggle Dropdown
  • European Union Refugee Law
  • Humanitarian Parole
• Sanctuary Cities
• Temporary Protected Status
• The Wall & Border

Introduction

There’s no official legal definition for sanctuary city and what it means varies significantly from place to place. Generally speaking, local law enforcement in sanctuary cities or counties don’t ask or report the immigration status of people they come into contact with. A sanctuary jurisdiction typically refuses requests from federal immigration authorities to detain undocumented immigrants apprehended for low-level offenses. A sanctuary city would also refuse to have its local law enforcement "deputized" as federal immigration agents.

Executive Order on Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States

• Trump orders list of ‘sanctuary cities’ to target for funding freeze Whitehouse.gov 4/28/25
• San Francisco v. Trump (2025) San Francisco, Portland, Santa Clara and New Haven file suit against Trump's sanctuary cities policy

• Executive Order: Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States Executive Order 13768 of January 25, 2017. Published at 82 Fed. Reg. 8799.

• Revision of Civil Immigration Enforcement Policies and Priorities On 1/25/21, Pres. Biden revoked Trump's Executive Order "Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States."

Cases

• Judge blocks Trump from cutting funding to dozens of "sanctuary" cities, including Los Angeles and Chicago CBSNews.com 8/23/25
• Judge throws out Trump’s lawsuit against Illinois over sanctuary policies Politico 7/25/25
• US v. LA (2025) Trump sues the mayor of Los Angeles over that city's ordinance, which he says makes LA a "sanctuary city".

Other Sources of Law on Sanctuary Cities

• Justice Department ends Trump-era limits on grants to ‘sanctuary cities’ Reuters 4/28/21
• 8 U.S. Code § 1373 This is the sanctuary cities law mentioned in the executive order.
• California's Sanctuary State Law
• Texas Senate Bill 4 Bans sanctuary cities. passed 5/7/17
• CITY OF EL CENIZO, TEXAS v. TEXAS, 890 F.3d 164 (2018) The 5th Circ. US Court of Appeals upheld and struck down in parts the law banning the creation of sanctuary cities in Texas.
• AG-backed bill prohibiting ‘sanctuary cities’ brings heavy opposition to Kansas Statehouse Kansas Reflector 3/15/22

Video

Links

• Cities, States Resist — and Assist — Immigration Crackdown in New Ways Stateline 8/3/18 Includes map of "sanctuary" state laws.
• D.C.’s Department of Corrections Has Processed Over 40 ‘ICE Pick-Ups’ From Its Facilities Since 2016 Immigration activists and advocates question whether D.C. is really a ‘sanctuary city.’ Washington City Paper 8/23/19
• ICE publishes monthly report on 287(g) enforcement actions
• Immigration Detainers Are they legal? From the ACLU.
• These communities have a lot at stake in Trump’s executive order on immigration Brookings Institution 1/17. Columbus, OH is 15th out of 20th on the list.
• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Criminal Alien Program Faces Challenges Office of Inspector General Report 2/18/20

City of Columbus

• Columbus, Franklin County among those labeled as sanctuary jurisdictions by DHS ABC6OnYouSide.com 5/30/25
• Homeland Security’s list of ‘sanctuary cities’ pulled down after sheriffs object Ohio Capital Journal 6/2/25

• Mayor Ginther's Executive Order on Immigration Stops short of declaring Columbus, Ohio a sanctuary city.
• Columbus City Code Sec. 161.10 Codification of Mayor Ginther's Executive Order

Franklin County

• Franklin County Common Pleas Court Local Rule 111 prohibits warrantless civil arrests at the courthouts
• Franklin County Common Pleas Court Rule 112 prohibits the execution of a judicial warrant in a courtroom unless the judge agrees to allow it in writing, and restricts court staff from requesting or sharing information about a person’s immigration status.

• << Previous: Humanitarian Parole
• Next: Temporary Protected Status >>

• Last Updated: Dec 22, 2025 3:09 PM
• URL: https://fclawlib.libguides.com/immigrationlaw
• Print Page

Login to LibApps Tags: Afghanistan, arrests, asylum seekers, balca, child immigration law, covid-19, daca, DED, Department of Homeland Security, deportation, deportations, DHS, e-verify, eoir, Franklin County Law Library CLE, green card, guest workers, humanitarian parole, immigration enforcement, immigration law, immigration legal advice, medical deferred action, passports, refugees, removal, sanctuary cities, special immigrant visas, studying for citizenship test, tps, Ukraine, unaccompanied minors, US Customs and Immigration Service, uscis, venezuala, visas