Louisville, Kentucky, ended its sanctuary city policies following a “strong written warning” from the Department of Justice.
“In a major victory for the Department of Justice, the city of Louisville is dropping its sanctuary city policies as a result of a strong written warning from my office,” Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Tuesday.
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“This should set an example to other cities. Instead of forcing us to sue you — which we will, without hesitation — follow the law, get rid of sanctuary policies, and work with us to fix the illegal immigration crisis,” she said.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, a Democrat, said the city is changing its policies on holding illegal immigrants in custody on federal detainers. The city wasn’t holding immigrants in prison for up to 48 hours on detainers, but it will do so now in cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for fear of possible litigation.
“The stakes are too high,” Greenberg said, noting maintaining the city’s sanctuary status would’ve likely resulted in the loss of federal grants for various programs.
In a June 25 letter addressed to Greenberg, the DOJ’s Civil Division urged the city to comply with federal law by ensuring that the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections “will notify ICE as early as possible before it releases a removable alien” and “will maintain custody of the alien for a period not to exceed 48 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, in order to permit assumption of custody by DHS.” The correspondence requested the mayor’s response by July 14.
Greenberg responded one week late on Monday, agreeing to uphold the 48-hour detainer policy.
“The city will, therefore, adjust its detainer policy to avoid litigation over DOJ’s allegations of federal preemption,” he wrote, stressing that local police will not directly assist ICE. “To be clear, the Louisville Metro Police Department will not participate in immigration enforcement, and LMPD’s focus will remain on public safety and preventing violent crime in Louisville.”
Following the written agreement, Louisville was taken off the Trump administration’s list of more than 500 sanctuary jurisdictions that do not comply with federal immigration law. Among the sanctuary cities on the list are Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Philadelphia.
Louisville adopted a policy in 2017 that prevented local police from cooperating with ICE. The policy has remained in effect until now.
Louisville was the only city in Kentucky that didn’t follow the 48-hour detainer policy, which is standard practice for the state’s Department of Corrections. According to the mayor, only 100 inmates in the city’s prison system were “charged with crimes and affected by detainers” per year.
Before making the decision, Greenberg revealed he spoke with immigration leaders who are concerned about the recent ICE raids.
“This change in designation is critical. Cities on the sanctuary city list right now are experiencing a terrifying increase in raids by ICE, including mass raids. Just look at what’s gone on in LA and other cities across the country,” the mayor said on Tuesday.
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Despite the new agreement with the DOJ, Greenberg maintains he is committed to keeping the city’s immigrant community safe from federal law enforcement.
“We have tens of thousands of immigrant families in Louisville. We do not want to see highly coordinated and often violent federal enforcement action here, especially in workplaces, residential areas, schools, places of worship, parks, and other areas where law-abiding people gather,” he said. “We do not want the National Guard occupying the streets of Louisville. I will not risk the safety of our broader immigrant community.”