Louisville Ends ‘Sanctuary City’ Policy After Department of Justice Letter

The federal government had threatened to rescind funding for so-called sanctuary jurisdictions.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg speaks at a press conference, in this file photograph. Luke Sharrett/AFP via Getty Images

The city of Louisville, Kentucky, will start holding inmates for federal law enforcement, officials said on July 22.

Louisville corrections officers will start honoring immigration detainers, or requests to hold inmates for up to 48 hours until federal officers arrive to take custody of them, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said in prepared remarks.

“I have been assured by the U.S. Department of Justice that, if we reinstate the 48-hour detainers for inmates who’ve been arrested for crimes, Louisville will be taken off the federal sanctuary city list,” Greenberg said. “Accordingly, Metro Corrections will begin honoring 48-hour federal detainers as soon as practical because the stakes are too high.”

Louisville was listed among other so-called sanctuary jurisdictions in May, with federal officials saying they may pull funding until policies obstructing immigration laws are changed. The Department of Justice sent a warning letter to the city in June.

“Louisville stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants if we remain classified as a sanctuary city,” Greenberg, a Democrat, said.

He also said that getting Louisville removed from the list would likely mean fewer operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said on July 20 that ICE agents, while prioritizing the arrest of illegal immigrants with serious criminal convictions, would continue arresting other illegal immigrants they encounter in the community.

The change in city policy will affect only a small number of people, according to Greenberg. He said that there are fewer than 100 illegal immigrants in Louisville jails each year who would be subject to detainers. He contrasted that with tens of thousands of immigrant families living in the city.

“I believe we will best protect our law-abiding immigrant community and our entire city by focusing the Trump Administration’s immigration enforcement actions on the few inmates in our jail who have been arrested for committing crimes and are subject to deportation,” Greenberg said.

Kentucky state law enforcement already holds illegal immigrants for 48 hours, and all other cities in the state do as well, the mayor said. Louisville honored the detainers until 2017.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X on July 22 that the change was “a major victory.”

“This should set an example to other cities. Instead of forcing us to sue you—which we will, without hesitation—follow the law, get rid of sanctuary policies, and work with us to fix the illegal immigration crisis,” she stated.

Louisville Councilman Anthony Piagentini, a Republican, said on X that he supports the change.

Amber Duke, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, condemned it.

“This move not only undermines the trust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement,” she said in a statement, “but it will also further exacerbate the overcrowding and understaffing issues at Louisville Metro Department of Corrections that have led to more than 20 deaths in the past three years.”