Philly is on the Trump administration’s new list of sanctuary jurisdictions, which now excludes collar counties

The Trump administration published a dramatically shortened list of so-called sanctuary jurisdictions on Tuesday, winnowing the number of places the president plans to target for their refusal to help enforce federal immigration laws.

Philadelphia is still on the list.

Hundreds of other cities, counties, and states disappeared, the total number shrinking from more than 500 to a new 35.

The Philadelphia collar counties of Montgomery, Delaware and Chester were removed. So was the state of New Jersey.

It was not immediately clear if the new list represented the specific places that Trump intends to sue for what he has deemed noncompliance with federal law. He has repeatedly promised to withhold federal funding from these jurisdictions, a move that could have financial implications for Philadelphia if that threat becomes a reality.

In announcing the news, the Justice Department specifically mentioned the lawsuit it brought against New York City last month over its sanctuary policies, naming Mayor Eric Adams and other city officials as defendants.

“Sanctuary policies impede law enforcement and put American citizens at risk by design,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement released Tuesday. “The Department of Justice will continue bringing litigation against sanctuary jurisdictions and work closely with the Department of Homeland Security to eradicate these harmful policies around the country.”

Officials said the new list was not exhaustive and would be updated as federal officials gather more information. The administration is ready to help jurisdictions eliminate their sanctuary policies and be removed from the list, the Justice Department said.

Delaware was one of 12 states on the list.

The department did not explain why the list had been slashed.

“Yet again, we are watching our federal government escalate its overreach into our cities and towns,” said Diana Robinson, co-executive director of Make the Road Pennsylvania, an immigrant-advocacy organization. “Sanctuary cities are entirely constitutional, and this attempt to stoke fear in our communities will not work. ...Attacking immigrants, turning people against each other, and forcing families into the shadows isn’t about border security, it’s about consolidating power.”

She called on local leaders to “stand up and fight for the people who elected them — not give in to the federal government’s attempts to choke out our independence.”

In June, the Trump administration removed its original list from online publication amid wide confusion over which jurisdictions were on it and how they got there.

For instance, leaders in three rural Pennsylvania counties that Trump won by more than 20 percentage points were surprised to see that their federal funding was now potentially at risk.

Those GOP-controlled counties never held sanctuary policies surrounding immigration, a major target of the Trump administration. The only “sanctuary” policies some of them have were put in place in response to sanctuary initiatives elsewhere, intended to reaffirm their allegiances to the federal government’s rules on issues such as the right to bear arms.

Homeland Security officials insist that sanctuary jurisdictions like Philadelphia protect criminal, undocumented immigrants and put law enforcement officers in peril.

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told WABC NY Radio, in an interview recently shared by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on social media, that sanctuary policies not only hurt citizens but also are “hurting that migrant community that came here for a better life, that left places where criminals preyed on them in their home countries, and now they’re having the same thing happen to them here in America.”

In Philadelphia and elsewhere, undocumented people who commit crimes are not shielded from arrest. And no local law or policy can block ICE from doing its work.

Officials in sanctuary jurisdictions, also called “welcoming” communities, say they simply choose not to spend local tax dollars to help ICE.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to questions about how it decided which places would be on the list, whether it coordinated its selections with the Department of Homeland Security, or what the potential consequences could be for inclusion.

On Tuesday Philadelphia City Solicitor Renee Garcia said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration was aware that “the Justice Department has republished a list of so-called ‘sanctuary jurisdictions,’ though Philadelphia still has not received any formal notification from any federal agency.

“We will continue to monitor, and we remain confident that Philadelphia is in compliance with federal law.”

The city’s long-term budget plan was approved by a state board last month, despite uncertainty about potential legal actions by the Trump administration.

On the original list issued in May, Philadelphia stood among 16 Pennsylvania cities and counties that were to be formally notified of what the president calls their noncompliance with federal immigration law. At potential risk were billions of dollars in aid.

Gov. Josh Shapiro told reporters Tuesday that he had not seen the new list but said, “You never know with this administration if they get it right or not.”

In addition to Philadelphia’s suburbs, other Pennsylvania jurisdictions, including Pittsburgh, Gettysburg, State College, and York, were removed from the list.

Also cited on the original list were Burlington County, Cumberland County, Camden, Trenton, and more than a dozen other Garden State localities. The new list names only the New Jersey cities of Hoboken, Jersey City, Newark, and Paterson.

Montgomery County Commissioner Tom DiBello, the lone Republican on the three-person board, said he was pleased to see the county removed from the list but wasn’t yet ready “to spike the ball in the end zone.”

He made several calls to Washington earlier this year when he learned the county was listed as a sanctuary jurisdiction, telling federal officials there was never such a vote.

“My efforts actually were worthwhile, I guess,” he said, noting that the Trump administration had left the door open to future revisions.

In June, the county barred its employees from providing information to ICE, telling them to withhold data like immigration status and country of origin unless directed to do so by their superiors.

Leaders in Chester and Delaware Counties said Tuesday they were unconcerned about the new list.

Josh Maxwell, a Democrat who chairs the Chester County Board of Commissioners, called it “a huge distraction that doesn’t really change anything besides scare a lot of people and families.”

The Trump administration’s original list included Delaware, Chester, and Montgomery Counties, although none had formally approved an ordinance or resolution declaring themselves as sanctuary jurisdictions.

Each county, however, enforces internal policies that limit cooperation with ICE.

This summer Delaware and Montgomery Counties announced they would no longer honor ICE detainer requests in their local prisons unless accompanied by a judicial warrant, a policy that Chester County says it has held for a decade.

Chester County Commissioner Eric Roe, a Republican, said he was pleased by the new Justice Department list.

“Chester County has a very cooperative relationship with ICE and federal law enforcement agencies, and I hope that never changes,” he said in an email. “... Chester County respects the rule of law, so I’m happy to see that the DOJ removed Chester County from its list of counties that thumb their noses at federal immigration authorities.”

Chester and Delaware Counties argued when the original list was posted that they had been included erroneously. Their removal from the list, Democratic officials said, proved the Trump administration was continuing to act arbitrarily.

“We still don’t have really any definition of what’s considered a sanctuary jurisdiction,” said Monica Taylor, a Democrat who chairs the Delaware County Council. “We’re continuing to just focus on our job.”

In Philadelphia, Parker has maintained that the city is not backing down from its pro-immigrant policies, including the refusal to comply with jail detainers issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ICE insists those detainers empower local jurisdictions to hold people in jail beyond the time they would normally be released. In some cases, that enables ICE to travel to the jail or prison and take the person into custody.

Sanctuary jurisdictions don’t comply. They say they have no legal authority to confine someone beyond the time a judge says they should be set free — and that doing so only invites legal action. In 2020, for example, Los Angeles County paid a $14 million settlement after its sheriff’s department held more than 18,000 people on detainers.

The city of Philadelphia and Montgomery County, two prominent examples, obey ICE detainers if they are accompanied by a signed judicial warrant.

Parker has taken a noticeably different approach to the issue than her predecessor, former Mayor Jim Kenney, who championed Philadelphia’s immigrant communities and loudly antagonized Trump. The Parker administration, for instance, maintains Philadelphia is a “welcoming city,” rather than a “sanctuary” jurisdiction, though the policies are the same.

Parker’s strategy appears to have helped keep the city out of Trump’s crosshairs. But the city’s inclusion on the new Department of Justice list means the federal government is still paying attention to Philadelphia’s policies.

Last week Parker announced the appointment of Charlie Ellison as the city’s new director of the Office of Immigrant Affairs, filling a post that had been vacant since shortly after Trump took office, with the resignation of Amy Eusebio.

Immigrant advocates who have been frustrated by Parker’s conflict-averse approach were hoping she would name someone who would take the fight to Trump. Ellison appears unlikely to do that.

Asked what tone the city should take on immigration during the Trump era, he responded, “The city is on the best possible course currently.”

At a news conference announcing Ellison’s hiring, Parker acknowledged the charged atmosphere created by the president but did not mention Trump by name.

“There is uncertainty now in the air. People don’t know what to expect from their government,” Parker said. “Your city is here to keep you safe and to safeguard your basic rights.”

Staff writer Aliya Schneider contributed to this article.