Trump's Trials - Some states ramp up pressure on local law enforcement to aid immigration efforts

Episode Date: February 10, 2025

The DOJ's lawsuit against Chicago's sanctuary laws is the most visible effort to force local police to help with immigration enforcement. But the more serious pressure is coming from states. Support NPR and hear every episode sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

I'm Scott Detro and you're listening to Trump's terms from NPR. We're going to be doing all sorts of things nobody ever thought was even possible. It's going to be a very aggressive first hundred days of the new Congress. An unpredictable, transformative next four years. The United States is going to take off like a rocket ship. Each episode we bring you the latest news about the 47th president and the policy changes he is pursuing on his own terms. We know from experience that means challenging precedent, busting norms, and pushing against set ideas about what the federal government can and can't do.

It all raises questions about how much Washington and the country will change over the course of this term. NPR is covering it all in stories like the one you are about to hear, right after this. You're listening to Trump's terms from NPR is covering it all in stories like the one you are about to hear, right after this. You're listening to Trump's Terms from NPR. Want to know what it's like to play behind the tiny desk? If you've got the talent, we've got the desk. Unsigned artists, enter the 2025 Tiny Desk Contest for an opportunity to play your own Tiny Desk Concert.

Our nationwide star search starts now, and the winner will play their own Tiny Desk Concert and a U.S. tour. I'm Amy Martinez. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has announced a deal with the Trump administration that will allow his state's highway patrol to carry out immigration enforcement. This comes after the administration sued officials in Chicago over sanctuary laws that limit that kind of cooperation. Here's MPR's Martin Costi. DeSantis supports what he calls President Trump's mandate for stepped up immigration enforcement and mass deportation. But he foresees a problem.

He's not going to be able to do it if you have states that are trying to kneecap these enforcement efforts, or even if states and localities just simply sit on their hands. There is evidence that ICE needs local law enforcement. One study published in 2020 found that deportations went down by a third in places with sanctuary policies. DeSantis wants his state to do the opposite. We're stepping up. I know some other states will as well.

I know some other states will fight this, but we're strong partners. We understand the people spoke loud and clear that these policies be implemented without delay. The Florida announcement demonstrates a basic truth about American policing. Local governments are the creatures of state law. David Harris is a professor at the University of Pittsburgh Law School, where he studied the role of local police and immigration enforcement. He says sheriffs and police chiefs know that their states can tell them what to do, but It's a different thing than the federal government doing that.

The federal government simply has no authority to order local police to do certain tasks. They are a separate sovereign. Harris says that's why more Republican-controlled states are now likely to step in to aid Trump's mass deportation project. Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, and Oklahoma have already passed bills or announced policies facilitating local cooperation with ICE. Wyoming briefly considered legislation requiring that cooperation, but that was a step too far for Alan Thompson. He's the executive director of the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police. So our issue with that mandate was that it takes all of the negotiation aspect out of it.

He's worried that if sheriffs are required to work with ICE, they won't be able to negotiate a better deal for, say, their jail beds. And negotiations are a big part of this. Here's Sheriff Terry Johnson in Alamance County, North Carolina. They can't leave it up just to my citizens to pay the bill. His jail has had a long-standing contract to supply ICE with 40 beds, and ICE may soon want more. He feels a duty to help, but not at any price.

Right now, with the way medical insurance has gone up in our jail, food prices have gone up in our jail, we have to try to negotiate a fair price for the county as well as the federal government. I'm not going to rob Peter to pay Paul. That sentiment is echoed by Jonathan Thompson, executive director of the National Sheriffs Association. He says the sheriffs are, quote, eager to help if asked. But he says for them, the most important part of this is resources, whether the feds will

pay for jail space, training and overtime. Martin Kosty, NPR News. Before we wrap up a reminder, you can find more coverage of the incoming Trump administration on the NPR Politics Podcast, where you can hear NPR's political reporters break down the day's biggest political news, with new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks, as always, to our NPR Plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without sponsored messages.

You can learn more at plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detro. Thanks for listening to Trump's Terms from NPR. We are.