The Trump Administration has issued many Executive Orders and policy directives attacking immigrants and particularly those who defend immigrants, including sanctuary cities.
These orders and policies target sanctuary jurisdictions with threats of defunding, prosecution of elected officials, and lawsuits over local policies. Additional memos expand immigration enforcement powers to other branches of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ); prioritize federal criminal prosecutions related to immigration; demand a published list of sanctuary jurisdictions; impose coercive funding conditions on grants related to assistance in federal immigration enforcement; threaten criminal and civil actions; and enlist federal and local law enforcement agencies in the administration’s efforts to expand federal immigration enforcement.
Go back to federal tracking information.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) DOJ Immigration Officer Authorization
Memorandum dated January 22, 2025.
In this memo, DHS delegates their immigration enforcement powers to the U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and any other employee of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Delegation to Director, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), to Order Expedited Removal and Enforce Immigration Laws
Document dated May 2, 2025.
DHS delegated to USCIS the authority to order expedited removal, issue and execute ICE detainers, detain and release noncitizens on bond, remove noncitizens from the country, and investigate alleged civil and criminal violations of immigration laws.To implement this delegation of authority, DHS issued a final rule that went into effect October 6, 2025. The same day that the final rule was published, USCIS announced that they will be hiring “special agents” to implement this new delegation.
Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Division Enforcement Priorities
Memorandum dated June 11, 2025.
This memo instructs the civil division to identify and take legal action against sanctuary jurisdictions. This memo largely repeats the same threats that the two earlier memos relied on to justify the reallocation of resources and threats to federal grants.
Department of Justice (DOJ) Ending Political Violence Against ICE
Memorandum dated September 29, 2025.
The memo instructs several law enforcement divisions of the DOJ to “defend ICE facilities” and DOJ law enforcement grants to provide funding to defend ICE facilities. The memo also states that “all state and local law enforcement officers protecting ICE facilities and personnel as hereby added to a temporary ICE Protection Task Force alongside each of the Department’s law enforcement components.” Note that this task force could be in violation of state or local laws depending on the jurisdiction.
Department of Justice (DOJ) Interim Policy Changes Regarding Charging, Sentencing, And Immigration Enforcement
Memorandum dated January 21, 2025.
This memo directs the DOJ to use all of its law enforcement components including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for immigration-related related arrests and prosecutions.
The memo also threatens jurisdictions with sanctuary policies with a variety of legal attacks, including lawsuits against their policies and prosecutions for protecting immigrants. It also incorrectly states that state and local elected officials must comply with federal immigration enforcement initiatives. The US Supreme Court and other federal courts have already ruled that is untrue. See the National Immigration Project, Setting the Record Straight About Sanctuary Policies (Jan. 22, 2025).
Lastly, the memo also announces the creation of a special working group called “sanctuary cities enforcement working group” to track sanctuary policies and pursue lawsuits against them. For a breakdown of this memorandum and how it changed things at the DOJ, see Immigration Enforcement Takeover at the Department of Justice.
Department of Justice (DOJ) Sanctuary Jurisdiction Directives
Memorandum dated February 5, 2025.
This memo threatens sanctuary jurisdictions by restricting access to federal grants administered by the DOJ, in accordance with Executive Order 14159. The memo goes after federal grants to jurisdictions that either support or provide services to immigrants.
This memo also threatens sanctuary jurisdictions and mandates investigations for “misconduct” in places where state and local officials refuse to participate in immigration enforcement. This has no sound legal foundation, and the federal government cannot make a finding of misconduct simply because they do not approve of a local policy.
Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders
February 19, 2025
This order instructs the executive departments or agencies to ensure that federal funding does not go to state and localities with sanctuary policies.
Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens
April 28, 2025
This order states (falsely) that jurisdictions with sanctuary policies are supporting “lawless insurrection.” This order instructs the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to publish a list of sanctuary jurisdictions.
DHS did publish this list on May 29, 2025 and they pulled it down off the website 3 days later due to public criticism.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) published a list on August 5, 2025 and stated that jurisdictions can take steps to be taken off the list. Many jurisdictions have rejected these threats and publicly refused to change their policies in response to the threats from the DOJ.
Note that this order basically repackages the same funding threats as the previous executive orders. A federal judge noted that after issuing a block against parts of the previous executive orders, the administration tried to issue this new order to circumvent the federal court’s order. See City and County of San Francisco v. Donald J. Trump (in the federal litigation section).
Protecting the American People Against Invasion
January 20, 2025
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The order revokes prior executive orders related to immigration enforcement and policies from 2021.
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is directed to prioritize enforcement of immigration laws over other activities to “protect the public safety and national security interests” of the U.S.
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Multiple federal agencies are directed to engage in punitive policies toward immigrants: prioritizing criminal prosecutions for unauthorized entry to the US; implement registration requirements and penalties for failure to register; assess fines and fees from immigrants; increase immigration detention; reevaluate Temporary Protected Status; and overall to prioritize immigration enforcement over all other agency activities.
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DHS is directed to enter into 287(g) agreements with state and local agencies. For more information on 287(g), see ILRC’s dedicated webpage.
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DOJ and DHS are directed to make sure that jurisdictions with sanctuary policies do not receive federal funds and take criminal or civil actions against these jurisdictions.
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DHS is directed to issue guidance for compliance with the provisions of 8 U.S.C. 1373 and 8 U.S.C. 1644 through information sharing with state and local governments. For more information on these provisions, see ILRC’s resource, Fact Sheet on Sanctuary Policies and 8 U.S.C. 1373.
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DOJ and DHS are directed to review and pause or terminate all agreements providing federal funding to non-governmental organizations supporting or providing services to removable noncitizens.
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DHS is directed to hire more agents and officers to carry out immigration enforcement activities subject to available appropriations. For more information on appropriation funds that were allocated to DHS, see the American Immigration Council’s resource, What’s in the Big Beautiful Bill? Immigration