State and local officials from across the political spectrum have criticized the White House’s list of “sanctuary” jurisdictions which are deemed uncooperative with its hard-line immigration policies.
The list includes spelling errors and names of areas that actually backed President Donald Trump‘s immigration policies, with one local official saying mistakes on the document were “negligent.”
Newsweek has contacted the Department of Homeland Security via email for comment.
Why It Matters
The list is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to make good on the president’s campaign promises to remove millions of people who are in the country illegally. Pushback from jurisdictions which say they don’t know why they are on the list could prove an obstacle for his plans.
What To Know
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) listed 500 “sanctuary jurisdictions” as obstructing immigration enforcement.
The department said each area published on Thursday will receive formal notification they are deemed noncompliant and if they are believed to be in violation of any federal criminal statutes.
But the list had misspellings and included sparsely populated counties that have little to do with immigration, as well as areas that overwhelmingly backed Trump and his hard-line immigration policies, The Associated Press reported.
Huntington Beach, California, made the list even though it filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s immigration sanctuary law and passed a resolution declaring the community a “non-sanctuary city.”
Huntington Beach Mayor Pat Burns said that accidents happen, but so many other cities being given this designation was “negligent.”
Some counties were mislabeled as cities and vice versa and misspelled communities included Cincinnati. In North Dakota, seven mostly small, rural counties wound up on the list, including Slope County, which also backed Trump.
Jim Davel, administrator for Shawano County, Wisconsin, said the inclusion of his community must be a mistake given that 67 percent of it voted for Trump.
Communities supportive of immigrants such as the states of California, Illinois and Washington, are on the list. Bruce Harrell, Seattle’s mayor, told the AP that Trump is trying to “strong-arm” cities like his, but it would not work.
What People Are Saying
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in a statement: “These sanctuary city politicians are endangering Americans and our law enforcement in order to protect violent criminal illegal aliens.”
Huntington Beach Mayor Pat Burns to the AP: “You don’t have that many mistakes on such an important federal document—somebody’s got to answer to that,” adding that it was “negligent.”
Bruce Harrell, mayor of Seattle, to the AP: “This is simply the latest attempt by the Trump administration to strong-arm cities like Seattle into changing our local policies through bluster and threats.”
What Happens Next
It is not clear what legal actions the Trump administration will pursue, but the list could be updated when the administration receives new information, according to the AP.
Those on the list could face serious financial consequences, including suspended or terminated federal grants and contracts by the Office of Management and Budget, the news agency added.
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