California is Largest Offender of DHS Sanctuary Cities Violations
Over 100 California counties & cites make DHS sanctuary cities violations
By Evan Symon, May 31, 2025 2:45 am
31 May 2025 2:45 am
The Department of Homeland Security released a list of over 500 states, counties, and cities on Friday that are identified as sanctuary jurisdictions undermining the rule of law, with California being the largest offender with well over 100 jurisdictions violating federal law.
According to the DHS, the jurisdictions violate Executive Order 14287: Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens. Under the Executive order, which was signed off by President Donald Trump earlier this month, a list of states and local jurisdictions that obstruct the enforcement of Federal immigration laws (sanctuary jurisdictions) is required to be published.
"Sanctuary jurisdictions including cities, counties, and states that are deliberately and shamefully obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws endangering American communities," said the DHS in a statement. "Sanctuary cities protect dangerous criminal aliens from facing consequences and put law enforcement in peril. The list below was created to identify sanctuary jurisdictions, which are determined by factors like compliance with federal law enforcement, information restrictions, and legal protections for illegal aliens.
"Each jurisdiction listed will receive formal notification of its non-compliance with Federal statutes. DHS demands that these jurisdictions immediately review and revise their policies to align with Federal immigration laws and renew their obligation to protect American citizens, not dangerous illegal aliens."
Of the over 500 jurisdictions across the nation listed by the DHS, about 1/5th of all of them came from California, including 48 of the 58 counties in the state, 63 cities, and California itself for having a statewide sanctuary law.
Here is the current DHS list of the 112 violating jurisdictions in the Golden State:
State Self-Identification as a State Sanctuary Jurisdiction County Alameda County Amador County Butte County Calaveras County Colusa County Del Norte County El Dorado County Glenn County Humboldt County Imperial County Lake County Lassen County Los Angeles County Madera County Mariposa County Mendocino County Merced County Modoc County Mono County Monterey County Nevada County Plumas County Riverside County Sacramento County San Benito County San Bernardino County San Francisco County San Joaquin County San Luis Obispo County San Mateo County Santa Barbara County Santa Clara County Santa Cruz County San Diego County Shasta County Sierra County Siskiyou County Solano County Sonoma County Stanislaus County Sutter County Tehama County Tuolumne County Trinity County Tulare County Ventura County Yolo County Yuba County Cities Alameda Albany Arcata Baldwin Park Belmont Benicia Berkeley Calipatria Cathedral City Chula Vista City of San Rafael Coachella Concord Culver City Davis El Cerrito Emeryville Eureka Fort Bragg Fremont Fresno Hayward Healdsburg Huntington Beach Huron Imperial La Puente Long Beach Los Angeles Madera Malibu Martinez Maywood Menlo Park Mountain View Newark Oakland Pacifica Palm Springs Pasadena Petaluma Pleasanton Represa Richmond Sacramento Salinas San Diego San Francisco San Jose San Leandro San Luis Obispo San Pablo Santa Cruz Santa Rosa Santee Soledad Stockton Union City Ventura Vista Watsonville West Hollywood Williams
Many cities and counties on the list issued statements later on Friday defending their positions and commitments to sanctuary laws and protecting illegal immigrants.
"While Los Angeles County has not formally declared itself a sanctuary jurisdiction, the County is proud of its long-standing commitment to human rights and to ensuring that all residents, regardless of immigration status, are treated with dignity and respect," said a spokesperson for Los Angeles County. "The County is committed to ensuring that County services and locations are accessible to everyone in our communities. The County has and will continue to comply with applicable federal law as we support our residents through policies that enhance public health and safety."
However, a few cities said that their inclusion was a mistake. Most notable was Huntington Beach, a city in the unlisted Orange County that recently passed an ordinance declaring themselves a non-sanctuary city.
"Our appearance on the list is either a misprint or a serious mistake," explained Huntington Beach Mayor Pat Burns. "We adopted a formal policy on this. It went before the council, and we unanimously agreed that Huntington Beach is not a sanctuary city. We took deliberate action to make our non-sanctuary stance clear."
As of Friday evening, the DHS has yet to respond to their inclusion, but will likely remove their name from the list in a future update. State officials, including Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta, have also yet to respond to the DHS list.
Author Recent Posts Evan SymonEvan V. Symon is the Senior Editor for the California Globe. Prior to the Globe, he reported for the Pasadena Independent, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and was head of the Personal Experiences section at Cracked. He can be reached at evan@californiaglobe.com. Latest posts by Evan Symon (see all) California is Largest Offender of DHS Sanctuary Cities Violations - May 31, 2025 Bill to Automatically Grant CSU Admission to High School Grads Passes Senate - May 30, 2025 Former Gov. Jerry Brown Comes Out in Defense Of California High-Speed Rail - May 30, 2025 Spread the news: RELATED ARTICLES San Francisco Becomes Third 'Transgender Sanctuary City' In California June 13, 2024 California Appeals Court Rules That All Cities Must Follow Sanctuary City Law January 13, 2020 Make California Safe Again: Bill Introduced to Cut Sanctuary Cities' Federal Funding February 3, 2025