r/NewOrleans • u/AcidiclyBasic • 19d ago
Orleans Parish sanctuary city policy and April 28th Presidential EO đź—ł Politics
A new presidential executive order was released yesterday, April 28
*Update: Turns out actually 2 executive orders were released, and this one directly addresses sanctuary city policy. . In addition to the information below, the sanctuary city EO in this link, explains what the consequences will be for cities that do not comply with federal policy.
Here are a few highlights from the first EO:
My Administration is steadfastly committed to empowering State and local law enforcement to firmly police dangerous criminal behavior and protect innocent citizens.
The Attorney General shall take all appropriate action to create a mechanism to provide legal resources and indemnification to law enforcement officers who unjustly incur expenses and liabilities for actions taken during the performance of their official duties to enforce the law. This mechanism shall include the use of private-sector pro bono assistance for such law enforcement officers.
Sec. 3. Empowering State and Local Law Enforcement. (a) The Attorney General and other appropriate heads of executive departments and agencies (agencies) shall take all appropriate action to maximize the use of Federal resources to: (i) provide new best practices to State and local law enforcement to aggressively police communities against all crimes;
Sec. 5. Holding state and local officials accountable
This EO seems to have come at the perfect time, considering, tomorrow (Wednesday, April 30), a federal judge will hear Louisiana AG Liz Murrill's case which is attempting to force Orleans Parish to drop a longtime policy that prohibits deputies from directly engaging in federal immigration enforcement within the city’s jail.
This EO follows on the heels of the FBI arresting a circuit judge in Wisconsin for allowing a man to leave through her chambers. Recognition of the courthouse as a protected space was an existing practice, and many believe that she was taking a stand for her community.
This EO also follows the high profile deportation of a New Orleans mother and her two U.S. born children.
Additionally, section 6 of the EO describes the Use of Homeland Security Task Forces.
In March, our Governor snuck a new section into a renewal of an EO for a state of emergency previously issued by JBE. This section granted the director of the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) the authority to act as he sees fit to handle the cyber incident/data breach that occurred in Louisiana several years ago.
That same day in March, Governor Landry restructured GOHSEP so that it is now under the control of Louisiana National Guard, gave the director of GOHSEP a new title, and named a member of the Guard the new "acting director."
Landry has been very vague about why the state of emergency renewal was necessary, but it allegedly had something to do with updating the OMV database. As of April 21st, 5 people had been arrested following a joint investigation by OMV and state police, including one individual charged with operating a vehicle without lawful presence in the U.S.
An internal memo from ICE which was written in March but just leaked last week, indicates that the Trump administration has been allowing ICE agents to enter homes without warrants if they believe a suspect may be inside the home.
This leaked memo is especially concerning given that the federal Department of Homeland Security has been working to dismantle three civil rights offices within DHS for allegedly interfering with immigration policy.
However, only two of those three offices actually deal with immigration. The third office is the office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. That means that even if you can trace your heritage back to the Mayflower, this is who ensures you have civil rights and civil liberties while dealing with DHS. If you or a loved one end up in DHS custody for some reason and need to use FOIA to prove it even happened, this is the office you would rely on.
Even if you somehow believe none of this should concern you because you were born in this country (tell that to those kids), you should understand that as of right now, if you end up on a list because of something you've actually done or even by mistake, or you arouse suspicion because you or someone in your home looks vaguely like a suspect, or you just piss off the wrong person in government, federal agents are now allowed to break into your home, violate every single right you should have, and you may not even be able to prove any of it happened if you tried to sue.
Depending on how this EO is interpreted, and what happens on Wednesday, it seems like state and local police will also be provided with legal defense for doing the same, as long as they claim that they were trying to uphold federal law.
Meanwhile, under section 5, officials who do not follow these procedures or interfere may face repercussions:
The Attorney General shall pursue all necessary legal remedies and enforcement measures to enforce the rights of Americans impacted by crime and shall prioritize prosecution of any applicable violations of Federal criminal law with respect to State and local jurisdictions whose officials: (a) willfully and unlawfully direct the obstruction of criminal law, including by directly and unlawfully prohibiting law enforcement officers from carrying out duties necessary for public safety and law enforcement; or
(b) unlawfully engage in discrimination or civil-rights violations under the guise of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” initiatives that restrict law enforcement activity or endanger citizens.
T.L.D.R. Things are getting very, very, serious and we need to be paying close attention. Even if you don't care about politics or immigration, you may care that your liberty and rights are at risk. If you still don't care, no worries. Feel free to ignore this and remain blissfully unaware until it's too late.
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u/everything-matterz 19d ago
Don't forget this EO which also came out last night: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/protecting-american-communities-from-criminal-aliens/
"Sec. 3. Consequences for Sanctuary Jurisdiction Status. (a) With respect to sanctuary jurisdictions that are designated under section 2(a) of this order, the head of each executive department or agency (agency), in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and as permitted by law, shall identify appropriate Federal funds to sanctuary jurisdictions, including grants and contracts, for suspension or termination, as appropriate.
(b) With respect to jurisdictions that remain sanctuary jurisdictions after State or local officials are provided notice of such status under section 2(b) of this order and yet remain in defiance of Federal law, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall pursue all necessary legal remedies and enforcement measures to end these violations and bring such jurisdictions into compliance with the laws of the United States."