San Diego County included in DOJ's new list of 'sanctuary jurisdictions'

Alexandra Mendoza, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Aug 5, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

San Diego County is once again named in a Trump administration list of so-called sanctuary jurisdictions, which includes states, cities and counties with policies that, according to federal officials, “impede enforcement of federal immigration laws.”

The designation, this time by the U.S. Department of Justice, comes on the heels of San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez’s refusal to provide the names and information of all non-citizen inmates in local jails, as the federal agency had requested last month. In her response, she cited a state law that severely limits local law enforcement’s ability to collect such information and to cooperate with federal authorities on immigration enforcement.

The county was already on the Trump administration’s radar. Late last year, the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution that completely bars county agencies from such cooperation, a step that goes beyond what state law allows.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement Tuesday that sanctuary policies “put American citizens at risk by design,” and warned that the DOJ will “continue bringing litigation against sanctuary jurisdictions and work closely with the Department of Homeland Security to eradicate these harmful policies around the country.”

County officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

California, which adopted the California Values Act, or Senate Bill 54, in 2018 to prohibit cooperation between local law enforcement and immigration agencies, with certain exceptions, was included as one of the 13 states on the list.

“California has never hidden the fact that we have chosen to focus our resources on public safety — not federal immigration enforcement,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Tuesday in a statement in response to the state’s inclusion on the list.

“The Trump Administration cannot bully or intimidate state and local law enforcement into doing the federal government’s job for it, as it is attempting to do with the latest iteration of this list. Federal courts have already ruled that our state law, the California Values Act, is a lawful exercise of state authority under the 10th Amendment and does not conflict with federal immigration law,” he added.

The DOJ said the designations came after a “thorough review of documented laws, ordinances, and executive directives by the listed jurisdictions.”

Factors considered for including cities, states or counties on the list include whether they have declared themselves sanctuary jurisdictions, have policies that limit cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or have funding restrictions to support federal immigration enforcement efforts, the DOJ website reads.

DOJ also considered jurisdictions that restrict how and whether local agencies can share information about the immigration status of detainees with federal authorities.

Last month, the DOJ requested that sheriffs in certain California counties, including San Diego, release the names of noncitizen inmates in their jails, as well as information on the crimes for which they were arrested or convicted and their scheduled release dates.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said that “compliance with Attorney General Bondi’s request would violate state law, and Sheriff Martinez cannot supply the information that the Attorney General asked for.”

“She respectfully responded that (SB 54), limits the circumstances under which local law enforcement may use funds or personnel to support immigration enforcement and prevents local law enforcement from asking about an individual’s immigration status, from sharing a person’s personal information with immigration authorities unless otherwise required or permitted by law, or from arresting anyone only for having a deportation removal order or for most other immigration violations,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

“The Sheriff has relayed that in accordance with SB 54, she does not and cannot ask an individual’s immigration status, and the Sheriff’s Office does not enforce immigration law. As such, she does not have or maintain the information requested.”

The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment on the sheriff’s stance.

A previous list of “sanctuary jurisdictions” was released about two months ago by the Department of Homeland Security that included San Diego County and the cities of San Diego, Chula Vista, Santee and Vista.

At the time, Santee and Vista, as well as other cities across the nation, voiced their confusion about being included.

Vista Mayor John Franklin stated that the city is not a sanctuary city and asked the president to correct the mistake. A spokesperson for the city of Santee said city officials were surprised by the list.

DHS later removed the list from its website, which still displays a “Page Not Found” message.

______

(Staff writer Teri Figueroa contributed to this report.)