Oops? So long, "Sanctuary jurisdiction" webpage.
New Haven no longer appears on a public list of “sanctuary jurisdictions” targeted for federal-financial punishment by the Trump administration.
That’s because that list no longer appears to exist online — as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) took it down from its webpage several days after the list was first published.
Such is the latest with the most recent dispute between the Trump and Elicker administrations over municipalities that limit local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
On Thursday, DHS published a list online of “sanctuary jurisdictions” that the Trump administration called out by name for “deliberately and shamefully obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws” and thereby “endangering American communities.”
That list included six Connecticut municipalities, including New Haven, East Haven, Hamden, Hartford, New London, and Windham.
On Friday, Mayor Justin Elicker, Police Chief Karl Jacobson, Board of Alders Majority Leader Richard Furlow, and a host of other local leaders and immigrant rights activists held a press conference at City Hall denouncing the online announcement’s rhetoric — while embracing the designation of New Haven as a “welcoming city” for all, regardless of one’s immigration status.
Then, on Sunday, DHS appears to have taken down the webpage entirely. As of Monday, the link that used to take one to the full list of “sanctuary jurisdictions” now yields the error message, “Page Not Found.”
What happened?
An unnamed “Senior DHS Official” sent the Independent this message when asked for comment about the taking down of the webpage: “As we have previously stated, the list is being constantly reviewed and can be changed at any time and will be updated regularly. Designation of a sanctuary jurisdiction is based on the evaluation of numerous factors, including self-identification as a Sanctuary Jurisdiction, noncompliance with Federal law enforcement in enforcing immigration laws, restrictions on information sharing, and legal protections for illegal aliens.”
That “Senior DHS Official” did not respond to specific questions about why the list was taken down and if it has been published elsewhere.
On Monday morning, city spokesperson Lenny Speiller said that the City of New Haven has not received any notification from the federal government, as far as he is aware, about a change to this list.
“This is yet another example of the incompetence and chaos that defines the Trump Administration,” Mayor Elicker told the Independent. “Whether there’s a list or not — or whether New Haven is on the list or not — our values remain the same and New Haven will continue to be a welcoming city for our immigrant residents and community.”