President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on April 28 directing his administration to create and publish a list of sanctuary cities accused of obstructing federal immigration law enforcement.
The order, which Trump plans to sign on Monday evening, will direct Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi to “publish a list of state and local jurisdictions that obstruct the enforcement of federal immigration laws,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at an April 28 press briefing.
Bondi and Noem must then notify the sanctuary jurisdictions of their noncompliance to give them an opportunity to correct course, a White House official said, adding that those that do not comply may lose federal funding.
The order directs the two agency heads to pursue all legal avenues and enforcement efforts to bring any noncompliant jurisdictions into compliance, the official added.
Additionally, Bondi and Noem are directed to create processes to make sure sanctuary jurisdictions are using proper eligibility verification to prevent illegal immigrants from accessing federal public benefits.
The order specifically directs Bondi to target any state or local laws that may prioritize illegal immigrants over U.S. citizens, including in-state tuition benefits or favorable criminal sentencing, the official said.
Leavitt said the order is “centered around protecting American communities from criminal aliens.”
“It’s quite simple—obey the law, respect the law, and don’t obstruct federal immigration officials and law enforcement officials when they are simply trying to remove public safety threats from our nation’s communities,” Leavitt said.
The press secretary was joined by Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, to preview the order early on April 28 during a press briefing. The presentation focused on Trump’s immigration actions during the first 100 days of his second term.
The president is expected to sign a second executive order on Monday evening that seeks to “strengthen and unleash America’s law enforcement to pursue criminals and protect innocent citizens,” Leavitt said.
As of April 28, Trump has signed more than 140 executive orders during his first 100 days since inauguration, the White House said.
Leavitt blamed the Biden administration for granting asylum to millions of people who traveled to the southern border from other countries since early 2021, indicating that Trump’s immigration policies are a response to what she called former President Joe Biden’s “dereliction of duty.”
However, many of the Trump administration’s actions on illegal immigration, including deportation flights to El Salvador, have been met with litigation from outside groups, Democratic state attorneys general, and plaintiffs claiming that they are facing deportation without first having court hearings to determine their legal status, resulting in judges’ halting of a number of them.
The Trump administration has moved to appeal these decisions.
Recently, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government must “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant who was deported to El Salvador because of an “administrative error” after he was granted “withholding of removal” status in 2019 because of life-threatening conditions in his home country of El Salvador.
The administration says he is a member of the Venezuelan transnational gang MS-13, which has now been designated a foreign terrorist organization. Administration officials also say that the responsibility for Abrego Garcia’s return now falls on the government of El Salvador, which the U.S. government paid $6 million to take deportees to its Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a maximum security prison.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has said that he will not return Abrego Garcia to the United States.
“Of course I’m not going to do it. I mean, the question is preposterous,” he told reporters during a visit to the White House on April 14.
When asked whether he would release him inside El Salvador, he said, “We’re not really fond of releasing terrorists into our country.”
Last week, a federal judge ruled that a previous Trump order directing Bondi and Noem to ensure that sanctuary jurisdictions “do not receive access to federal funds” is likely unconstitutional.
Orrick’s ruling blocked the Trump administration from enforcing the order against several California jurisdictions that are suing. Those include Monterey County and the cities of Emeryville, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz.
To mark the president’s first 100 days back in office, the White House on April 28 displayed signs showing 100 people whom Immigration and Customs Enforcement had arrested, along with the crimes they had been charged with.
