Trump Administration Removes List Targeting Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County As Refusing to Cooperate with Federal Immigration Law

by P.D. Lesko

“Sanctuary” has no legal definition. The term encompasses a range of protection for immigrants, particularly those living in the U.S. illegally. Most often, the laws put legal limits on how law enforcement in those jurisdictions can cooperate with federal immigration authorities. On May 29, 2025, the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security published a list of cities and counties in the U.S. where law enforcement officials have said they will not cooperate with ICE.

Days later, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security removed the list of “sanctuary” states, cities and counties from its website following criticism from a sheriffs’ association. The president of the National Sheriff’s Association reportedly said a list of “noncompliant” sheriffs could severely damage the relationship between the Trump administration and law enforcement.

The National Sheriffs’ Association, represents more than 3,000 elected sheriffs across the country and generally supports federal immigration enforcement.

Washtenaw County Sheriff Alyshia Dyer, when campaigning for office in 2024, said she would not cooperate with ICE. Dyer reiterated her stance in Jan. 2025. Dyer told MLive: “The crux of it on my end as sheriff is we’re not getting involved. Federal immigration matters are federal immigration matters, and we are local public servants.”

Washtenaw County ended up on the Dept. of Homeland Security’s May 29 list of “sanctuary jurisdictions.” One day before Dyer made her public comments in Jan. 2025, the U.S. Dept. of Justice announced that its federal prosecutors would be expected to investigate local compliance with federal immigration laws.

Sheriff Kieran Donahue, president of the National Sheriffs’ Association, said in a statement that DHS published “a list of alleged noncompliant sheriffs in a manner that lacks transparency and accountability.” Donahue said the list was created without input from sheriffs and “violated the core principles of trust, cooperation, and partnership with fellow law enforcement.”

Donald Trump had called for his administration to tally apparent sanctuary jurisdictions, in a late April executive order, saying the lack of cooperation amounted to “a lawless insurrection.”

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem did not acknowledge the list being taken offline but said some localities had bristled.

“Some of the cities have pushed back,” Noem said. “They think because they don’t have one law or another on the books that they don’t qualify, but they do qualify. They are giving sanctuary to criminals.”

Leaders of some cities publicly questioned the sanctuary label this week, including jurisdictions in southern California, Colorado and Massachusetts.

Ann Arbor City Council member Travis Radina (D-Ward 3) issued a public statement in which he said: “While Ann Arbor is not a sanctuary city, we are proud to be an inclusive and welcoming city.”

Mayor Chris Taylor issued a statement in which he said, “We want immigrants to be here and encourage them to come. We also recognize federal law is superior to state and local law.”

Ann Arbor has an ordinance that restricts public servants from soliciting information about immigration status unless it’s necessary for establishing identity, flight risk, or relevant to investigating or prosecuting a serious crime.

Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit, now running to be elected the next Michigan AG, has an immigration policy posted online in which Savit states the Prosecutor’s Office will: “Declin[e] to collaborate with ICE or federal immigration enforcement to enforce federal immigration laws or policies, except to the extent required by law.”

San Diego city attorney Heather Ferbert told local outlets that San Diego – named on the DHS list – had never adopted a sanctuary policy and that the move appeared to be politically motivated.

“We suspect this is going to be used as additional threats and fear tactics to threaten federal funding that the city relies on,” she said.

Immigrant advocates and some Democrats say sanctuary policies help build trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement so that residents will be more likely to report crimes.

At a hearing before a U.S. House of Representatives committee in March 2025, mayors from Boston, Chicago, Denver and New York City, which vote majority Democrat, said sanctuary policies made their cities safer and that they would always honor criminal arrest warrants.

Noem, who shares Trump’s hardline anti-immigration views, said the department would continue to use the sanctuary tally.

Both Washtenaw County and Ann Arbor are recipients of federal grants.

In Sept. 2024, Ann Arbor received a $1 million Environmental Justice Government-to-Government grant to develop a climate resiliency plan. Between 2019 and 2024, the City of Ann Arbor received $132 million in federal funding. Thus far in 2025, the City has received $18.1 million in federal funding.

The City’s 2025 budget shows the bulk of its $608 million in revenue comes from the General Fund ($141 million) including property taxes, its water, sewer and solid waste systems ($89 million), bonds and additional millages ($37 million).