How to designate a sanctuary city

Nicholas Softy

According to FAIR’s 2025 Nationwide Sanctuary Report, there are (2) items which indicate that Louisville is acting in a pro-sanctuary manner.

(1.) According to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Detainer Acceptance Tracker, the Metro Department of Corrections (Louisville) is listed as “providing limited cooperation” with immigration detainer requests.

For your reference, an immigration detainer is a request from ICE that asks a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency — including jails, prisons or other confinement facilities — to:

• Notify the requesting agency as early as possible before they release a removable alien.
• Hold the alien for up to 48 hours beyond the time they would ordinarily release them, so DHS has time to assume custody in accordance with federal immigration law.

Note: ICE’s authority to issue detainers comes from federal regulations at 8 C.F.R. § 287.7, which arises from the secretary’s power under section 103(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1103(a)(3), to issue “regulations... and perform other such acts he deems necessary for carrying out his authority” under the INA, and from ICE’s general authority to detain aliens who are subject to removal or removal proceedings.

(2.) Metro Police Department and Mayor Craig Greenberg’s immigration position : “Immigration enforcement is not a local law enforcement matter.”

Here is the article which references the quotation, and also outlines some of Louisville’s stances on immigration detainers: Louisville area police policies on cooperation with ICE officers. (Courier-Journal-2/14/25)