Original Date Announced

A "Sanctuary Cities Enforcement Working Group" was created within the Office of the Associate Attorney General (AAG) of the Department of Justice (DOJ). Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove wrote in a memo to all department employees that the DOJ's Civil Division would be working with the Sanctuary Cities Enforcement Working Group "to identify state and local laws, policies, and activities that are inconsistent with Executive Branch immigration initiatives and, where appropriate, take legal action to challenge such laws."

Trump 2.0 [ID #1425]

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.01.27 Trump Administration Moves Swiftly to Shake Up Top Career Justice Dept. Ranks - The New York Times

According to the New York Times, senior DOJ officials have been reassigned to the Office of Sanctuary Cities Enforcement, which appears to be the working group described in this entry. This includes at least four section chiefs from DOJ's Environment and Natural Resources Division, two senior leaders from Civil Rights Division, at least two senior leaders from National Security Division, and former leader of the Criminal Division's section that prosecutes public corruption.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.01.30 DOJ Press Release: "Violent Illegal Alien Arrested After Release from Local Jail Despite Federal Arrest Warrant."

Acting Deputy AG Bove called for an investigation of the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office in Ithaca, NY, a sanctuary city, for "fail[ing] to honor a valid federal arrest warrant for a criminal alien with an assault conviction." ICE issued a federal arrest warrant for Jesus Romero-Hernandez, an undocumented immigrant, while he was in Tompkins County local custody for state-level assault charges. Consistent with Ithaca's sanctuary city policies, the Sheriff's Office released Romero-Hernandez on time served after he pleaded guilty to the state charges, despite the outstanding federal warrant.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.08.30 Reported: DOJ reassigned top attorneys. They quit after feeling sidelined. - Washington Post

The Washington Post reports that all lawyers reassigned to the Sanctuary Cities Enforcement working group from DOJ's national security and civil rights divisions have now quit. These lawyers were transferred in the first few weeks of the Trump administration, and were given the choice to either transfer or quit. Those who transferred reported that they were given little to do and were assigned busy work. Civil servants who voluntarily depart, rather than being fired, cannot challenge DOJ's attempts to force them out before the Merit System Protection Board (MSPB).

The Post notes that the Merit System Protection Board (MSPB) recently ordered reinstatement of two fired immigration judges (IJs), but that the final disposition of such cases could take months or years if the Trump administration continues to litigate.