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(NewsNation) — U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has written to U.S. cities and states with “sanctuary” policies successful place, saying leaders could look transgression charges aft allegedly obstructing national migration enforcement and giving migrants screen to perpetrate crimes.
Bondi sent a missive to Democratic officials, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, connected Thursday aft she said that President Donald Trump authorized her to place “sanctuary” jurisdictions and notify them of their unlawful sanctuary presumption and imaginable violations of national law.
She besides wrote Trump directed national agencies to place and measure their statutory authorization to contented grants, contracts and national funds to find wherever conditions could beryllium added to combat “sanctuary policies.”
“Individuals operating nether the colour of law, utilizing their authoritative presumption to obstruct national migration enforcement efforts and facilitating oregon inducing amerciable migration whitethorn beryllium taxable to transgression charges,” Bondi wrote.
(L-R) New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Denver Mayor Michael Johnston, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu are sworn successful during a House Committee connected Oversight and Government Reform proceeding titled "A Hearing with Sanctuary City Mayors," connected Capitol Hill successful Washington, DC, connected March 5, 2025. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)Since Trump signed an executive order in April directing the DOJ to make a database of sanctuary jurisdictions, the DOJ has filed respective related lawsuits, including 1 past period against New York City.
Last week, the Department of Justice released a database of 35 "sanctuary" cities and vowed to bring lawsuits against jurisdictions that neglect to comply with Trump's migration enforcement policies.
Bondi wrote that for excessively long, “sanctuary” jurisdictions person undermined practice betwixt state, section and national authorities agencies. That cooperation, she wrote successful the letter, is captious to enforce national instrumentality and support nationalist security.
The missive was sent amid ongoing friction betwixt the Trump medication and officials successful cities specified arsenic Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Denver. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Denver Mayor Michael Johnston person continued to support their policies aft being called to look connected Capitol Hill earlier this year.
Requests sent by NewsNation to spokespersons for Johnson, Johnston and Newsom seeking remark connected Bondi's missive connected Thursday were not instantly returned.
In June, 34 cities and counties requested to articulation a suit brought by California to keep the Trump medication from cutting national funding based connected their policies that bounds practice with national migration enforcement.
Last week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem referred to Chicago’s politician and Illinois’ politician arsenic “obstructionists” and said that the 2 officials routinely spot the rights of migrant criminals implicit the information of residents.
Bondi wrote successful her missive Thursday that successful her relation arsenic the nation’s apical instrumentality enforcement officer, she is committed to identifying authorities and section laws and policies that facilitate violations of national instrumentality oregon impede lawful migration enforcement operations. She besides directed her bureau and each U.S. Attorney's Office to analyse incidents involving “potential unlawful conduct.”
