Countless Americans have been needlessly victimized, and some have lost their lives, because local sanctuary policies prevented the perpetrators from being identified as deportable aliens.

- FAIR President, Dan Stein

(May 10, 2018, Washington, D.C.) —So-called sanctuary policies that shield illegal aliens from identification and removal by federal immigration authorities have doubled since the election of President Trump, finds a new report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). An exhaustive analysis of state and local policies, ordinances, and laws reveals that 564 jurisdictions – nearly double the number since President Trump took office – across the country have adopted policies that, to one degree or another, protect illegal aliens or obstruct efforts by the federal government to enforce immigration laws.

In their various forms, they forbid state and local officials (including law enforcement officers) from asking people about their immigration status; reporting suspected illegal aliens to the federal government; holding criminal aliens for arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); or otherwise cooperating with or assisting federal immigration enforcement agents.

"There is no rational justification for protecting deportable criminals. Yet, under pressure from radical groups, posing as 'immigrants' rights' organizations, 564 jurisdictions have decided that protecting foreign criminals is more important than the safety of their local communities," charged Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "Countless Americans have been needlessly victimized, and some have lost their lives, because local sanctuary policies prevented the perpetrators from being identified as deportable aliens, or prevented Immigration and Customs Enforcement from taking them into custody."

The proliferation of sanctuary policies from a mere 11 in 2000 to 564 in 2018 occurred despite the fact that such policies are explicitly prohibited under federal law, 8 U.S. Code § 1373. Several states - most notably Texas - have moved to bar such policies, but in other parts of the country they continue to increase in number and expand the scope of protections offered to illegal aliens.

"California's extreme sanctuary laws have become the object of a citizen-driven rebellion and a federal lawsuit. However, more action is needed - particularly by Congress - which has the authority to hold these rogue jurisdictions accountable by withholding targeted federal funds to local governments that obstruct immigration enforcement," said Stein.

The detailed report, Sanctuary Jurisdictions Nearly Double Since President Trump Promised to Enforce Our Immigration Laws, which includes links to all 564 sanctuary policies is available here.