The
legal basis for measures that limit cooperation with federal immigration
enforcement, often associated with Democrats and "sanctuary"
policies, is the Tenth Amendment's anti-commandeering doctrine, which
prevents the federal government from forcing state and local entities to
enforce federal law.
Legal Justification
Voluntary Cooperation: The Supreme Court has consistently held that immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility and that state and local cooperation is strictly voluntary, not mandatory. States and localities can, as a constitutional prerogative, choose the extent to which they collaborate with federal authorities like ICE.
Anti-Commandeering Doctrine: This constitutional principle means Congress cannot issue direct orders to state or local governments to enact or enforce a federal regulatory program. Requiring local law enforcement to hold individuals on an ICE detainer (a request to hold someone for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released) can be considered a violation of this doctrine, as it forces states to use their resources for a federal purpose.
Avoiding Civil Liability: Many jurisdictions have limited their cooperation with ICE detainer requests because holding individuals without a probable cause determination by a judge (ICE detainers are generally not judicial warrants) can violate the Fourth Amendment and expose local governments to civil lawsuits for unlawful detention.
Public Safety Rationale: Proponents of these policies argue they enhance public safety by building trust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement. When residents feel safe reporting crimes or appearing in court without fear of federal immigration arrest, it improves overall community safety.
Methods
of Limiting Enforcement
States and local jurisdictions employ various methods to limit cooperation, which courts have generally found to be within their legal authority provided they do not actively obstruct federal agents:
Restricting Detainers: The most common form of a "sanctuary" policy is to prohibit local jails from honoring non-mandatory ICE detainer requests.
Limiting Information Sharing: Some laws restrict the ability of local officials to proactively collect or share information regarding an individual's citizenship or immigration status beyond what is required by law.
Restricting Enforcement Locations: Recent state-level legislation in 2025 has focused on limiting where ICE can conduct civil arrests, such as in or near courthouses, to minimize disruption to court proceedings.
Legislative
Challenges: Democrats in Congress have introduced bills (as of late 2025)
to further regulate ICE activities, for example, by requiring judicial warrants
for courthouse arrests or allowing individuals to sue federal immigration
officers for constitutional rights violations.
Federal law preemption arguments have been used by the Trump administration in court to challenge some of these policies, but federal courts have largely sided with the states, granting motions to dismiss federal lawsuits and confirming that local policies limiting cooperation do not violate federal law. Federal agents are still able to conduct enforcement in these areas but must do so using their own resources and valid judicial warrants when entering private areas.
The legal basis for actions by Democratic state and local officials that impact or restrict federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations typically involves leveraging states' rights, local laws, and constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. These measures primarily focus on limiting state and local cooperation with federal agents or regulating how federal agents operate within specific jurisdictions, rather than an outright "disruption" of federal law.
Key legal strategies and arguments include:
Limiting Local Cooperation: States and cities pass laws (often referred to as "sanctuary" policies) that prohibit local law enforcement agencies from using their personnel or resources to perform federal immigration enforcement functions, such as holding individuals for ICE based solely on an ICE detainer request without a judicial warrant. The argument is that the federal government cannot compel states to enforce federal law and that honoring detainers without a warrant raises Fourth Amendment concerns.
Regulating Enforcement Tactics: Some jurisdictions have passed legislation to regulate the manner of ICE enforcement, such as requiring agents to display visible identification, banning them from wearing masks during operations, or limiting arrests in "sensitive locations" like courthouses, hospitals, and schools. The goal is to ensure accountability and minimize disruption to public services.
Creating Avenues for Legal Challenges: New state and local laws aim to make it easier for individuals to sue federal immigration agents for alleged civil rights or constitutional violations during enforcement operations, such as detaining people without probable cause or relying on impermissible factors like race or ethnicity.
Legislative
Proposals: Congressional Democrats have introduced bills to amend federal
law, for instance, to create a private right of action to sue federal agencies
for constitutional violations (the Bivens Act amendment), which is currently
largely limited to state and local authorities. Other proposals seek to strip
ICE of some detention powers or impose stricter oversight.
The legality of these measures is an area of ongoing legal and political dispute, often resulting in court challenges.
The federal government asserts the supremacy of federal law and has argued that state and local policies impede its ability to enforce immigration law.
However, the Supreme Court has previously indicated that the federal government cannot force local jurisdictions to use their resources for federal purposes.
Recent 2025 Supreme Court rulings have offered some clarity, with the Court lifting lower court restrictions on some ICE operations, such as "roving" raids in the Los Angeles area, but the broader tension between federal and state authority remains.
A
Wisconsin judge is currently on trial (as of December 2025) for allegedly
obstructing an ICE arrest, highlighting the high stakes and legal uncertainty
surrounding these interactions.
Ultimately, these actions are framed by their proponents as exercising legitimate state and local authority to protect residents' constitutional rights and civil liberties, while opponents characterize them as unlawful obstruction of federal immigration enforcement.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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