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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Valerie Gonzalez and Gisela Salomon

What is a 'sanctuary jurisdiction' and how was the US list of them made?

Immigration Sanctuary Jurisdictions - (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The U.S. government's list of “sanctuary jurisdictions” that includes hundreds of communities, both red and blue, is confounding critics. They have noticed the list included misspellings, communities with small immigrant populations, and those with strong support for cooperation with federal authorities.

Jessica Vaughan is director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors anti-sanctuary policies and started publishing a list of sanctuary jurisdictions 10 years ago. The center's list is different from the government's. Vaughan noted that the center discloses its methodology and frequently updates its list.

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