section_path: Legal issues/Sanctuary cities
section_name: Sanctuary cities
paragraph_text: Sanctuary cities
  
  Several US cities have instructed their own law enforcement personnel and civilian employees not to notify the federal government when they become aware of illegal immigrants living within their jurisdiction.
  
  There is no official definition of "sanctuary city". Cities which have been referred to as "sanctuary cities" by various politicians include Washington, D.C.; New York City; Los Angeles; Chicago; San Francisco; San Diego; Austin; Salt Lake City; Dallas; Detroit; Honolulu; Houston; Jersey City; Minneapolis; Miami; Newark; Denver; Aurora, Colorado; Baltimore; Seattle; Portland, Oregon; and Portland, Maine have become " sanctuary cities ", having adopted ordinances refraining from stopping or questioning individuals for the sole purpose of determining their immigration status. Most of these ordinances are in place at the state and county, not city, level. These policies do not prevent the local authorities from investigating crimes committed by illegal immigrants. In 2020, armed federal officers from CBP were to be sent to sanctuary cities across the country to perform routine immigration arrests.