The Trump administration on Thursday published a sweeping list of more than 100 cities and counties it claims are sanctuary jurisdictions – but by Friday afternoon, the list was already drawing mockery, denials and corrections from even MAGA-supporting counties and cities.
That’s according to a new report in the Wall Street Journal, which detailed Trump’s pledge to pull federal funding and pursue legal action against cities not complying with federal immigration laws. The list released by the Department of Homeland Security names localities in more than 30 states – including Democratic strongholds like New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
But the list was marred by glaring errors, the Journal found.
“By Friday afternoon, cracks were emerging in the list, which had multiple spelling errors, with several cities nationwide saying they had been included erroneously,” according to the report.
“The entire city of Las Vegas is surprised,” Mayor Shelley Berkley said. “We have never been a sanctuary city. We are not a sanctuary city. We’re not ever going to be a sanctuary city.”
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Nevada’s Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo backed that statement up, adding in his own remarks that “Las Vegas is working to quickly resolve this incorrect categorization with the Department of Homeland Security.”
In Michigan, Oakland County officials were also caught off guard.
“We are not a sanctuary jurisdiction. We are confident that the county’s policies and practices comply with federal law, and we were incorrectly placed on this list,” according to a joint statement by two Oakland county officials “addressing the erroneous inclusion” on the list.
Even Huntington Beach, California – where the MAGA-supporting council passed a resolution declaring itself a “non-sanctuary city” – found itself on the list.
“The list skewed toward northern and traditionally blue cities or counties,” the Journal reported. “In Georgia, the cities of Atlanta and Athens were named. Some states, like New York, were earmarked as a self-identified sanctuary jurisdiction. Roughly 12 cities within the state, from Albany to East Hampton to New York City, were on the list.”
The agency said the list will be updated on a regular basis, according to the Journal.