sanctuary jurisdiction

A sanctuary jurisdiction is a state, county, or city that limits its cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, for example by declining to hold individuals for federal authorities beyond their scheduled release or by restricting the sharing of certain information. The term has no single legal definition, and such policies are generally grounded in the constitutional principle that the federal government cannot compel state and local officials to administer federal programs. Further, sanctuary jurisdictions argue that maintaining this separation between federal and state enforcement improves civilian cooperation with local authorities. The Trump administration has a record of targeting sanctuary jurisdictions, including the withholding of disaster and other federal funds from states with sanctuary policies.