By Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Department of Homeland Security removed a list of “sanctuary” states, cities and counties from its website following sharp criticism from a sheriffs’ association that said a list of “non-compliant” sheriffs could severely damage the relationship between the Trump administration and law enforcement.
DHS on Thursday published a list of what it called “sanctuary” jurisdictions that allegedly limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. The list prompted a response from the National Sheriffs’ Association, which represents more than 3,000 elected sheriffs across the U.S. and generally supports federal immigration enforcement.
Sheriff Kieran Donahue, president of the association, said in a statement on Saturday that DHS published “a list of alleged noncompliant sheriffs in a manner that lacks transparency and accountability.” Donahue said the list was created without input from sheriffs and “violated the core principles of trust, cooperation, and partnership with fellow law enforcement.”
President Donald Trump had called for his administration to tally alleged sanctuary jurisdictions in a late April executive order, saying the lack of cooperation amounted to “a lawless insurrection.”
The DHS website listing the jurisdictions was offline on Sunday, an issue that Fox News host Maria Bartiromo raised with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on “Sunday Morning Futures.”
“I saw that there was a list produced,” Bartiromo said. “Now, the list I don’t see anymore in the media. Do you have a list of the sanctuary cities that are actually hiding illegals right now?”
Noem did not acknowledge the list being taken offline but said some localities had bristled.
“Some of the cities have pushed back,” Noem said. “They think because they don’t have one law or another on the books that they don’t qualify, but they do qualify. They are giving sanctuary to criminals.”
Leaders of some cities publicly questioned the sanctuary label this week, including jurisdictions in Southern California, Colorado and Massachusetts.
San Diego City Attorney Heather Ferbert told local outlets that San Diego – named on the DHS list – had never adopted a sanctuary policy and that the move appeared to be politically motivated.
“We suspect this is going to be used as additional threats and fear tactics to threaten federal funding that the city relies on,” she said.
Immigrant advocates and some Democrats say sanctuary policies help build trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement so that residents will be more likely to report crimes.
At a hearing before a U.S. House of Representatives committee in March, mayors from Boston, Chicago, Denver and New York City said sanctuary policies made their cities safer and that they would always honor criminal arrest warrants.
Noem, who shares Trump’s hardline immigration views, said the department would continue to use the sanctuary tally. DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The internet archive website Wayback Machine showed the list still online on Saturday. It was not clear when it went offline or whether it was related to pushback from sheriffs.
In his statement on Saturday, Donahue specifically called out DHS.
“”This is an unfortunate and unnecessary erosion of unity and collaboration with law enforcement and the enforcement of the rule of law at a time when that unity is needed most,” he said. “This decision by DHS could create a vacuum of trust that may take years to overcome.”
Sheriffs play a key role in immigration enforcement, holding alleged immigration violators for federal immigration officers in local jails and providing detention space.
The Trump administration last week pushed out two top U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials amid pressure for more arrests and deportations.
Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s immigration agenda, said ICE would be tasked with a goal of 3,000 arrests per day – 10 times the number last year under former President Joe Biden.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said Sunday on “Fox & Friends” that the agency hit 1,600 arrests several times last week, the highest levels since Trump took office.
“ICE can do more,” he said. “We will do more.”
(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Aurora Ellis)
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