Homeland Security removes sanctuary cities list amid law enforcement backlash

The Department of Homeland Security has pulled a controversial list of so-called

sanctuary jurisdictions off its website after fierce backlash from a key law enforcement group

The list published in late May under a Trump executive order named hundreds of cities

counties, and 13 states DHS said weren't cooperating with immigration enforcement, but even longtime Trump allies weren't on board

The National Sheriffs Association called the move arbitrary and said DHS failed to consult local agencies or explain how the designations were made

Sheriff Karen Donahue, who leads the group, said the list damaged trust and made sheriffs feel betrayed

By Sunday, the list had quietly disappeared from the DHS site. No one from the department has said whether the removal was a direct response to the criticism

The list itself was wide ranging, naming major cities like New York, Chicago and Denver, but also small towns and counties that said they'd never adopted sanctuary policies at all

Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkeley pushed back hard, saying her city had been misidentified and would never become a sanctuary city

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem defended the list, saying local governments were protecting undocumented immigrants at the expense of public safety

Going forward, some of the cities have pushed back. 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

The agency had warned the jurisdictions would get formal noncompliance notices and could face federal funding cuts

But the legal pushback came quickly. Twenty Democratic-led states have already sued to block those threats

At this point, DHS hasn't said if it plans to release a revised version of the list

but officials say the agency will continue evaluating cooperation with immigration enforcement and could update the list again at any time