By Guy Page
The State of Vermont is among a group named August 5 by the U.S. Department of Justice as Sanctuary Jurisdictions—states, counties, and cities whose laws or policies significantly hinder federal immigration enforcement.
DOJ said these designations followed a detailed review of each jurisdiction’s laws and directives. The list will be updated regularly, allowing for jurisdictions to be added or removed based on changes in their practices.
All listed jurisdictions will have a chance to respond to their designation, DOJ said. Gov. Phil Scott and other VT officials have consistently denied that Vermont is a sanctuary state.
In late May, Homeland Security published a national list that cited Vermont as well as Burlington, Montpelier, and Winooski as sanctuary jurisdictions. That national list was rescinded when several inaccuracies were discovered. But DOJ promised a revision – which it provided in the verbatim press release issued Tuesday, August 5:
Today, the U.S. Department of Justice published a list of states, cities, and counties identified as having policies, laws, or regulations that impede enforcement of federal immigration laws.
“Sanctuary policies impede law enforcement and put American citizens at risk by design,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “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.”
On April 28, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14287: Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens. The Executive Order recognized that “some State and local officials . . . continue to use their authority to violate, obstruct, and defy the enforcement of Federal immigration laws” and “[i]t is imperative that the Federal Government restore the enforcement of United States law.” The Executive Order directed the Justice Department, in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security, to publish a list of such jurisdictions. Accordingly, the following states, cities, and counties have been identified as sanctuary jurisdictions:
STATES:
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- Nevada
- New York
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Washington
COUNTIES:
- Baltimore County, MD
- Cook County, IL
- San Diego County, CA
- San Francisco County, CA
CITIES:
- Albuquerque, NM
- Berkeley, CA
- Boston, MA
- Chicago, IL
- Denver, CO
- East Lansing, MI
- Hoboken, NJ
- Jersey City, NJ
- Los Angeles, CA
- New Orleans, LA
- New York City, NY
- Newark, NJ
- Paterson, NJ
- Philadelphia, PA
- Portland, OR
- Rochester, NY
- Seattle, WA
- San Francisco City, CA
In recent months, the Justice Department has filed several lawsuits against sanctuary jurisdictions seeking to compel compliance with federal law, including one against New York City on July 24th. Recently, the Mayor of Louisville agreed to revoke their sanctuary policies following a letter from the Justice Department threatening legal action.
Read more about the sanctuary jurisdiction list and the criteria for inclusion here. This list is not exhaustive and will be updated as federal authorities gather further information. The federal government will assist any jurisdiction that desires to be taken off this list to identify and eliminate their sanctuary policies, so they no longer stand in opposition to federal immigration enforcement.