New federal list of ‘sanctuary jurisdictions’ includes the state of Minnesota

The U.S. Department of Justice published a new list of immigration “sanctuary jurisdictions” Tuesday, and it includes the entire state of Minnesota.

The designation comes months after the department previously published a list of jurisdictions that included Minneapolis, St. Paul and 20 mostly rural counties, confusing a number of officials about what policies or actions landed them on it. The list was later deleted online.

Minnesota is one of 12 states included on the list published Tuesday, along with the District of Columbia. It also includes 18 cities and four counties across the country – none of which are in Minnesota.

In a statement, the Department of Justice said the list is not meant to be exhaustive and will be updated as federal authorities gather more information.

The list is the result of an April executive order by President Donald Trump to identify jurisdictions that “use their authority to violate, obstruct, and defy the enforcement of Federal immigration laws.”

The list also comes with a set of characteristics for inclusion, such as making public declarations, laws or funding restrictions about limiting cooperation with immigration enforcement.

A request for comment from Gov. Tim Walz’s office was not immediately returned Tuesday, but Walz has spoken at length on the issue before.

“The Minnesota Legislature has not passed legislation making Minnesota a sanctuary state, and I have not signed any such legislation into law,” Walz said.

“The fact is, Minnesota cooperates with federal immigration authorities in a number of ways. When there is a convicted felon in our prisons, we ask about their immigration status, and we share that information with the Department of Homeland Security if they are undocumented,” he said. “That is codified in Minnesota state law.”

That same month, officials from Wright, Stearns and Otter Tail counties publicly questioned why they had been included in the now-deleted list.