Tracking Trump's executive orders: Targeting sanctuary jurisdictions

Executive Order 14287: Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens

Date Signed: April 28th, 2025

Key Provisions:

• This executive order calls for the Attorney General, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, to create a list of states and local jurisdictions that provide sanctuary to undocumented immigrants, which they will update as necessary.
• Following its publication, the Attorney General will notify them if they are in defiance of Federal immigration law enforcement or violating federal criminal law.
• As a consequence, the federal government will identify appropriate grants or funding to suspend as a result of being included on this list.
• It will also prevent federal funds or assistance from going to undocumented immigrants.  

Interfaith Alliance Counterpoints:

• By compiling lists of potential sanctuary jurisdictions, Interfaith Alliance is worried that faith communities and houses of worship will become subject to federal attack, infringing on their constitutional rights to religious freedom. We fear that the administration will misuse federal immigration enforcement to justify targeting states and localities whose residents largely don't share the politics of the current presidential administration.
• Many faith communities and houses of worship see it as critical to their expression of religion to provide sanctuary to all who are in need, regardless of their immigration status. By singling out those providing sanctuary status, the administration appears to be targeting faith communities in particular, simply because of their desire to care for all people. This is a direct infringement on their freedom of religion.
• The executive order frames the crisis at the border as an “invasion,” which plays into white nationalist framings of border control that are often related to the great replacement theory, a racist conspiracy theory that has inspired numerous hate-based attacks.