President Donald Trump signed an executive order on April 28, 2025, requiring the U.S. attorney general to coordinate with the Secretary of Homeland Security to release a list of cities and states that obstruct the enforcement of federal immigration laws with the aim of protecting Americans from “criminal foreigners.”
Philadelphia may eventually make it to the list.
Philadelphia is the so-called sanctuary city. While the term has no fixed definition, it usually refers to a city that declares its refusal to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement (or even by chance).
As a law professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, where I oversee students representing low-paying immigrant workers, I know that asylum policies can slow down federal immigration enforcement systems.
But most importantly, federal immigration officials (usually U.S. immigration and customs enforcement) can still perform deportation in sanctuary cities.
Furthermore, there is no doubt that areas such as Philadelphia can legally decide not to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Like states, cities have constitutional protections that are forced to manage or enforce federal plans. The Trump administration cannot force any state or local officials to assist in the implementation of federal immigration laws.
What remains to be seen is what action the government will take to deal with jurisdictions that will eventually be included in sanctuary cities.
Philadelphia's Shelter Policy
My work involves researching asylum policies, and the frequency of ice relies on local law enforcement to help identify and hand over immigration.
Philadelphia's various shelter policies broke this connection and left the ice to its own equipment. They also signaled to immigrants that the city was not in federal immigration enforcement. Research shows that this helps immigrants gain more secure access to public benefits and services, such as getting care at community health centers or calling police without having to worry about immigration consequences.
Philadelphia's most famous shelter policy was an executive order signed in January 2016 by then-Senior Councilman Jim Kenney, which refused to place his prison respects the requirement to detain ice detention centers or release dates. The detainee is a voluntary request to local officials hold the immigrants who would otherwise be released, with an additional 48 hours so that the ice can pick them up.
Failure to respect ice detainees can undermine deportation pipelines and make ICE's jobs more difficult.
Another key policy for Philadelphia's asylum policy dates back to 2009 and was signed by Michael Nutter at the time. It is clear that city officials do not immigrate by police. Not only are all urban workers, including police, firefighters and behavioral health workers, not only are they prohibited from inquiries about immigration status in most cases, but police are specifically directed not to stop, arrest or detain “simply because of perceived immigration status.”
However, there is no way to enforce these asylum policies. Under these laws, city officials who violate them will not face consequences. Compliance relies on the commitment of officials who believe that following these policies is the right choice.
Philadelphia has also taken other ways to break the connection between city and immigration enforcement.
Since 2017, the Philadelphia Prison agreement has made ICE reluctant to interview immigrants held in prison. Prisons must first send consent forms to immigrants to inform them of their right to refuse to interview ICE before providing such individuals to ICE.
In 2018, Philadelphia ended the opportunity for ICE to enter the New York City preliminary arraignment reporting system used by the Philadelphia Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office. The city said it terminated the database sharing contract with the ICE in light of the “unacceptable” way the agency uses the system, “which could lead to immigration enforcement actions against Philadelphia people who have not been arrested, charged or committed any crime.”
While these policies cannot protect Philadelphia residents arrested by ICE, the lack of help from local officials will make it harder for the government to deliver on its deportation records.
Shelter Campus and Church
In addition to the city itself, other public and private institutions in Philadelphia have created shelters.
In June 2021, the Philadelphia School Board passed a shelter resolution as part of its efforts to build a welcome school for immigrant children. In January 2025, the Philadelphia School District reiterated its commitment.
Under Trump's first presidential palace, religious institutions such as the Germantown Mennonite Church in Northwest Philadelphia and the Tabernacle United Church in West Feli, provided shelter within its churches, providing immigrants with the final order to deport from the ice.
The University of Pennsylvania announced it as a shelter campus in 2016, but is currently evading the label, while faculty, staff and students are asking the university to articulate its immigration enforcement policies.
Since 2011, ICE has a memorandum of “sensitive locations” that will be disconnected but does not completely prohibit immigration enforcement in places of worship and in hospitals and schools. The Biden administration strengthened the "sensitive location" memorandum in 2021. Trump canceled the memorandum in his first month of office.
Revenge on sanctuary cities
From the Trump administration’s perspective, state and local officials who violate immigration laws engage in “can’t insurgency”, creating public and national security risks.
Despite strong government remarks about “criminal foreigners,” according to Syracuse University’s transaction records, 46% of immigration detainees currently have no criminal record. Many others have minor offenses, including violations.
The executive order vows to terminate federal grants and take all enforcement measures to “comply with U.S. law.”
Such termination may be illegal.
On April 24, 2025, a federal judge asked the government to take action against sanctuary cities in accordance with an earlier executive order to ensure they are unable to obtain federal funds.
The past situation of withdrawing federal funds from Philadelphia also failed due to its sanctuary city status. The first Trump administration terminated a $1 million federal grant after the city sued in 2017 and won a victory in federal court, which was unsuccessful.
The executive order also raises legally questionable claims that state and local officials complying with asylum policies are engaging in criminal activities such as obstructing justice, illegal carrying or violation of federal RICO laws. In any case, the government still has the option of placing high-profile prosecutions against state and local officials.
The federal government's efforts to punish the city of sanctuary will undoubtedly fall into a national legal challenge. However, Philadelphia officials still have to make a strong decision on the city’s current shelter policy at this moment. City Councilman Rue Landau has vocalized maintaining Philadelphia’s shelter status to ensure public resources are never used to support federal deportation. However, Mayor Cherelle Parker has not promised to strengthen or even ensure shelter protection in the city.
The same day Trump signed the executive order, according to Philadelphia Inquirer, Parker reiterated that Philadelphia is still operating under its 2016 shelter policy. But, the inquirer noted that she did not use the term “sanitation city,” she said she would not comment in more detail until Trump made concrete moves that affected Philadelphia. ”
This is an updated version of the story originally released on December 18, 2024.
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