AG Sessions Set to Block Millions in Funding to Sanctuaries

by Jessica Vaughan: The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Tuesday that sanctuary jurisdictions will lose access to certain federal law enforcement grants in 2017 if they prohibit officials from communicating with ICE, if they block ICE from interviewing jail inmates, or if they fail to notify ICE of the pending release of criminal aliens ICE is seeking to deport. These particular grants, known as the Byrne Justice Assistance Grants, are the largest source of federal criminal justice funds for state, local, and tribal authorities.

This move is helping fulfill one early promise of the Trump administration: to impose consequences on the most egregious of the more than 300 sanctuary jurisdictions.

It is significant because a large share of the funds awarded in this program go to sanctuary jurisdictions. For example, according to DOJ records, the four largest grants, and seven out of the top 10 recipients of the Byrne/JAG grants are sanctuaries. Under the new rules announced by Sessions, these four top grant-getters (New York City, Cook County, Ill., the City of Los Angeles, and Philadelphia) are likely to be disqualified from these grants in the future if they maintain their current policies toward ICE. These cities received more than $10 million in grants in 2016.

See the table below for a list of sanctuary jurisdictions that received Byrne/JAG grants in 2016. Sanctuary jurisdictions received $32.7 million in 2016.

Ten sanctuaries are already at risk of debarment based on an initiative launched last year by Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas), chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that controls DOJ's budget. Last year, the department notified 10 of the worst sanctuaries that their DOJ law enforcement grants could be pulled if they did not come into compliance with the federal law prohibiting sanctuary policies. The jurisdictions are California; Connecticut; Cook County, Ill.; Chicago; Milwaukee County; New York City; New Orleans; Philadelphia; Miami-Dade County, Fla.; and Las Vegas.

A few months later, Miami-Dade County reversed its sanctuary policy and began cooperating fully with ICE.

In April 2017, DOJ sent letters to nine of the jurisdictions (all but Connecticut) reminding them that by a deadline of June 30, 2017, they had to send documentation of compliance with the law or lose certain funding (and potentially face clawbacks of previously awarded funding). The documentation of "alleged compliance" is currently under review and the results are expected soon. AG Sessions has said their statements will be reviewed carefully: "It is not enough to assert compliance, the jurisdictions must actually be in compliance."

Tuesday's announcement makes clear that DOJ is not looking merely at bare minimal compliance with the letter of Section 1373, the federal law that prohibits policies that block communication between local officials and federal immigration agencies, which many sanctuaries dubiously claim to meet. It also signals that if a jurisdiction feels constrained by the legal controversies surrounding detainers (see discussion here), they can still demonstrate satisfactory cooperation by giving ICE 48 hours advance notice of criminal alien releases.

The following jurisdictions have extreme sanctuary policies that, if maintained, are likely to lead to disqualification from Byrne/JAG grants under the new rules: New York City; Chicago; Cook County, Ill.; Philadelphia; San Francisco County, Calif.; Orleans County, La.; Newark, N.J.; Travis County, Texas; Taos County, N.M.; Lycoming County, Pa.; and Butler County, Pa. Some jurisdictions have milder versions of sanctuary policies that may not lead to disqualification from grants under the DOJ rules announced Tuesday. For example, the following jurisdictions do not honor detainers but already provide ICE with adequate notification of criminal alien releases: Chesterfield County, Va.; Erie County, Pa.; Bedford County, Pa.; Montgomery County, Pa.; and Lebanon County, Pa. Under the new rules, these counties and others may still maintain eligibility for grants if they continue to cooperate fully with ICE.

A new map shows the jurisdictions that are most likely to fail to meet the new requirements, those that likely can meet requirements with their current policies, and a large number that could go either way.

The Byrne/JAG grants are one of three programs now off-limits to sanctuaries. Last year, Rep. Culberson imposed requirements for basic compliance on the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which offers partial reimbursement for the costs of incarcerating illegal aliens, and the Community Oriented Policing grant program.

How much money is at stake in the Byrne/JAG program? The Trump administration reportedly is seeking $380 million for the program in 2018. The table below shows a list of sanctuary jurisdictions that received these grants in 2016 and the amount of the grant.

Sanctuary Jurisdictions Receiving Byrne/JAG Grants in 2016

Awardee	Award Amount	Location
New York City Major's Office of Criminal Justice	$4,298,245	N.Y.
City of Chicago	$2,333,428	Ill.
City of Los Angeles	$1,870,503	Calif.
City of Philadelphia	$1,677,937	Pa.
Clark County	$975,604	Nev.
Milwaukee County	$937,932	Wisc.
County of Alameda, CA	$876,345	Calif.
City of Baltimore	$743,842	Md.
City of Seattle	$673,166	Wash.
County of San Bernandino	$626,025	Calif.
Hennepin County	$564,510	Minn.
City of San Diego	$546,793	Calif.
City of Newark Police Department	$525,446	N.J.
City and County of San Francisco	$522,943	Calif.
City of Albuquerque	$479,125	N.M.
City of Portland	$465,810	Ore.
City of Boston	$447,390	Mass.
City of Riverside	$429,942	Calif.
City and County of Denver	$426,590	Colo.
City of Stockton	$383,843	Calif.
City of Orange	$377,708	Calif.
Baltimore, County of	$336,110	Md.
County of Sedwick	$331,032	Kan.
Prince Georges County	$312,667	Md.
Dekalb County	$306,768	Ga.
City of Tacoma	$287,469	Wash.
City of Fresno	$269,208	Calif.
City of New Orleans	$265,832	La.
City of Saint Paul	$260,540	Minn.
City of Sacramento	$256,776	Calif.
City of Colorado Springs	$255,100	Colo.
Sacramento County	$241,650	Calif.
City of Providence	$225,539	R.I.
City of New Haven	$217,907	Conn.
City of Hartford	$196,347	Conn.
City of Long Beach	$196,217	Calif.
City of Bridgeport	$195,781	Conn.
Contra Costa County	$194,562	Calif.
City of Aurora	$175,123	Colo.
County of Kern	$168,552	Calif.
County of Union	$167,034	N.J.
County of Stanislaus	$165,937	Calif.
Spokane County	$154,903	Wash.
County of Delaware	$154,093	Pa.
Montgomery County	$147,560	Md.
City of Bakersfield	$145,769	Calif.
City of North Las Vegas PD	$143,777	Nev.
City of Vallejo	$136,511	Calif.
City of Reno	$130,850	Nev.
City of Syracuse	$117,888	N.Y.
City of Oxnard	$112,635	Calif.
Santa Barbara County	$108,100	Calif.
Clayton County	$107,853	Ga.
City of Salinas	$98,308	Calif.
City of Pueblo	$95,787	Colo.
City of Compton	$95,747	Calif.
Clark County	$91,717	Wash.
City of New Brunswick	$90,341	N.J.
City of Lakewood	$87,988	Colo.
City of Topeka	$85,769	Kan.
Lane County	$84,217	Ore.
County of Jackson	$76,389	Calif.
City of Council Bluffs	$73,440	Iowa
City of Salem	$69,968	Ore.
City of Pomona Police Dept	$69,550	Calif.
City of Lancaster	$68,883	Calif.
City of Greeley	$65,164	Colo.
City of Palmdale	$64,321	Calif.
City of Gainesville	$63,771	Fla.
City of Yakima	$63,434	Wash.
City of Allentown	$62,429	Pa.
Inglewood City	$61,413	Calif.
City of Santa Cruz	$59,519	Calif.
Chesterfield County	$55,163	Va.
City of Pawtucket	$54,601	R.I.
City of Oceanside	$53,730	Calif.
City of Merced	$51,649	Calif.
City of Fort Collins	$51,561	Colo.
City of Redding	$50,688	Calif.
Linn County	$50,045	Iowa
City of Hawthorne	$50,021	Calif.
City of Waterbury	$49,914	Conn.
City of Boulder	$49,602	Colo.
City of Santa Rosa	$48,367	Calif.
Sonoma County	$48,287	Calif.
City of Woonsocket	$47,961	R.I.
Chula Vista City	$47,700	Calif.
Adams County	$46,754	Colo.
City of Escondido	$46,313	Calif.
Municipality of Norristown	$46,294	Pa.
County of Tulare	$46,020	Calif.
City of Everett	$45,593	Wash.
Arlington County	$44,203	Va.
City of Erie	$43,588	Pa.
City of Stamford	$43,468	Conn.
City of Elk Grove	$42,765	Calif.
City of Gallup	$42,240	N.M.
Shasta County	$42,045	Calif.
City of South Gate	$41,484	Calif.
County of Merced	$41,458	Calif.
City of Visalia	$40,764	Calif.
County of Washington	$39,976	Ore.
City of Bellingham	$39,398	Wash.
City of New Britain	$39,287	Conn.
Town of Hamden	$38,895	Conn.
Kitsap County	$38,053	Wash.
Incorporated Village of Hempstead	$37,982	N.Y.
City of Hanford	$37,643	Calif.
Yolo County	$37,455	Calif.
City of New London	$36,107	Conn.
City of Thornton	$34,968	Colo.
Henderson Police Department	$34,400	Nev.
City of Concord	$33,988	Calif.
Hernando County	$33,767	Fla.
Deschutes. County of	$33,730	Ore.
City of Norwalk	$33,712	Conn.
Tulare City	$33,694	Calif.
Snohomish County	$33,664	Wash.
City of Vista	$33,348	Calif.
City of Farmington New Mexico	$33,277	N.M.
West Haven City	$32,841	Conn.
City of Cambridge	$32,576	Mass.
City of Las Cruces	$31,665	N.M.
City of Norwalk	$30,840	Calif.
City of Roswell	$30,672	N.M.
City of Huntington Park	$30,440	Calif.
City of Turlock	$30,066	Calif.
Madera County	$29,426	Calif.
City of Central Falls	$28,961	R.I.
City of El Cajon	$28,759	Calif.
City of El Monte	$28,492	Calif.
City of Grand Junction	$28,487	Colo.
City of Iowa City	$28,453	Iowa
City of Santa Monica	$28,199	Calif.
City of Rancho Cordova	$28,012	Calif.
City of Citrus Heights	$27,692	Calif.
City of Cranston	$27,195	R.I.
City of Westminster	$27,169	Colo.
Valencia County	$26,889	N.M.
City of Downey	$26,358	Calif.
San Juan County	$26,237	N.M.
Thurston County	$25,982	Wash.
Clackamas County Juvenile Department	$25,771	Ore.
City of Spokane Valley	$25,628	Wash.
City of National City	$25,397	Calif.
City of Meriden	$25,175	Conn.
Dona Asta County	$24,904	N.M.
City of Santa Clarita	$24,677	Calif.
City of Chico	$24,570	Calif.
City of Bremerton	$23,752	Wash.
City of Bellflower	$23,370	Calif.
County of San Mateo	$23,317	Calif.
City of Lodi	$22,863	Calif.
City of Hillsboro	$22,297	Ore.
Town of East Hartford	$22,213	Conn.
Placer County	$22,116	Calif.
City of West Hollywood	$21,903	Calif.
City of Gardena	$21,556	Calif.
City of Delano	$21,289	Calif.
San Luis Obispo County	$20,862	Calif.
City of Bethlehem	$20,854	Pa.
Mesa County	$20,546	Colo.
County of Mendocino	$20,222	Calif.
City of Watsonville	$20,115	Calif.
City of Somerville	$20,004	Mass.
City of Roseville	$19,928	Calif.
City of Pico Rivera	$19,822	Calif.
City of West Covina	$19,662	Calif.
City of Santa Fe	$19,631	N.M.
City of San Mateo	$19,475	Calif.
City of Napa	$19,208	Calif.
City of Whittier	$18,915	Calif.
City of Paramount	$18,808	Calif.
City of Commerce City	$18,766	Colo.
City of Baldwin Park	$18,675	Calif.
El Dorado County	$18,435	Calif.
City of Carlsbad	$18,408	Calif.
City of Clovis	$17,616	N.M.
City of Grants Pass	$17,547	Ore.
City of Arvada	$17,484	Colo.
City of Lakewood	$17,447	Calif.
City of Manteca	$17,421	Calif.
City of Bell	$17,341	Calif.
City of Beaverton	$17,239	Ore.
City of Yuba City	$17,181	Calif.
City of Olympia	$17,168	Wash.
City of Daly City	$16,887	Calif.
City of Rio Rancho	$16,871	N.M.
City of Azusa	$16,834	Calif.
Norwich City	$16,638	Conn.
City of Loveland	$16,451	Colo.
City of Clovis	$16,434	Calif.
City of Longview	$16,389	Wash.
City of La Mesa	$16,354	Calif.
City of Everett	$16,288	Mass.
City of DeKalb	$16,225	Ill.
City of Glendale	$16,007	Calif.
City of Danbury	$15,985	Conn.
County of Lake	$15,980	Calif.
City of Centennial Colorado	$15,668	Colo.
County of Yuba	$15,553	Calif.
City of Dinuba	$15,527	Calif.
City of Burbank	$15,046	Calif.
County of Nevada	$15,020	Calif.
Douglas County Government	$14,813	Colo.
City of Santa Clara	$14,806	Calif.
City of Selma	$14,753	Calif.
Imperial County	$14,726	Calif.
City of Porterville	$14,726	Calif.
City of Petaluma	$14,566	Calif.
City of Atwater	$14,513	Calif.
City of Gilroy	$14,299	Calif.
City of Torrance	$14,193	Calif.
Village of Freeport	$14,140	N.Y.
Reedley Police Department	$14,113	Calif.
Town of Manchester	$14,068	Conn.
City of San Luis Obispo	$13,873	Calif.
City of Pittsburg	$13,659	Calif.
City of Sanger	$13,659	Calif.
City of Culver City	$13,579	Calif.
City of Redondo Beach	$13,552	Calif.
City of Newton	$13,458	Kan.
Tehama County District Attorney	$13,419	Calif.
Eureka Police Department	$13,232	Calif.
City of Arvin	$13,206	Calif.
City of Hollister	$13,152	Calif.
Township of Lakewood	$13,149	N.J.
City of Lawndale	$12,966	Calif.
City of Marysville	$12,956	Wash.
City of Sunnyvale	$12,832	Calif.
City of Alhambra	$12,805	Calif.
City of East Providence	$12,785	R.I.
City of El Centro	$12,725	Calif.
City of Mountain View	$12,485	Calif.
City of Ceres	$12,299	Calif.
Brighton Police Department	$12,036	Colo.
City of Redmond	$11,874	Ore.
City of Coalinga	$11,738	Calif.
City of Santee	$11,738	Calif.
City of Rosemead	$11,712	Calif.
Village of Los Lunas	$11,692	N.M.
City of Pearland	$11,670	Texas
City of Las Vegas	$11,537	N.M.
City of Tracy	$11,365	Calif.
City of Wheat Ridge	$11,288	Colo.
City of Northglenn	$11,217	Colo.
City of Puyallup	$11,115	Wash.
City of Walla Walla	$11,115	Wash.
City of Lemon Grove	$10,858	Calif.
Town of Stratford	$10,715	Conn.
City of Belen	$10,700	N.M.
City of La Puente	$10,671	Calif.
Covina Police Department	$10,645	Calif.
City of Moses Lake	$10,619	Wash.
City of Monterey	$10,351	Calif.
City of Red Bluff	$10,324	Calif.
City of Los Banos	$10,244	Calif.
City of Encinitas	$10,164	Calif.
City of Ridgecrest	$10,138	Calif.
City of South Lake Tahoe	$10,031	Calif.
Total	$32,737,204

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Jessica M. Vaughan serves as Director of Policy Studies for the Center for Immigration Studies. Prior to joining the Center, Mrs. Vaughan was a Foreign Service Officer with the State Department, where she served in Belgium and Trinidad & Tobago.

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