Chalk up another victory in the Trump administration’s efforts to cajole blue cities to end their destructive “sanctuary” policies harboring illegal aliens.
The Democratic mayor of Louisville, Kentucky, informed the Department of Justice on Monday that the city will revise its stricter policy on federal immigration detainers, following threats of a lawsuit from the federal government.
In a letter obtained by Fox News Digital, Mayor Craig Greenberg said the decision was partly motivated by a desire to avoid being labeled a “sanctuary” city, which is typically used to describe jurisdictions that resist cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
“My understanding is that, by returning to our pre-2017 practices and again honoring 48-hour detainers, thereby functionally extending the notice period to DHS from 5-12 hours to 48 hours, Louisville will no longer be considered a sanctuary jurisdiction and, as a result, will no longer be vulnerable to the negative consequences of this designation,” Greenberg wrote to Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate. “The city will, therefore, adjust its detainer policy to avoid litigation over DOJ’s allegations of federal preemption.”
The mayor’s policy reversal follows a warning from the DOJ last month that Louisville’s detainer policy was obstructing the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts. The department cautioned Mayor Greenberg that jurisdictions refusing to comply have previously faced lawsuits and cuts to federal funding.
Detainer policies are a key factor in cities being labeled as sanctuaries for illegal immigrants.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issues detainer requests to local jails, asking them to hold individuals suspected of being in the U.S. illegally for up to 48 hours so ICE can take them into custody. Sanctuary jurisdictions often have policies that disregard these requests.
In Louisville’s case, the Metro Department of Corrections had been releasing individuals before the 48-hour window, preventing ICE from making arrests. News of the city’s policy change emerged after Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on X Tuesday morning that Louisville was “dropping its sanctuary city policies,” though she did not elaborate further.
