Screenshot of Department of Homeland Security's 'Sanctuary Jurisdiction' list on Monday, June 2
A group of North Dakota Sheriffs are pushing back against the Trump Administration and Department of Homeland Security after they recently linked them to “sanctuary jurisdictions” on a DHS website.
The term has been used by both immigration advocates and detractors to identify cities where immigrants have strengthened protections under local laws. Counties in North Dakota that were initially listed were Billings, Golden Valley, Grant, Morton, Ramsey, Sioux, and Slope.
The North Dakota Sheriff’s & Deputies Association disavowed the list on Friday, calling out the Trump Administration and DHS for publishing “misinformation.” Multiple top officials in the state said they had no idea why their jurisdictions were listed and couldn’t get specific answers as to why they were.
Some also questioned why neighboring South Dakota comparatively had no jurisdictions listed. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is the state’s former governor.
North Dakota officials joined those from many of the cities, counties, and states that were initially listed on a website hosted by the Department who pushed back against that narrative over the weekend.
By Monday morning, the website had been quietly removed.
There were reports over the weekend that DHS and the Administration used artificial intelligence to generate the lists. This comes after the Trump Administration was lambasted for releasing their “Make America Healthy Again” report that was filled with made-up sources and citations, which HHS eventually said was the result of artificial intelligence errors.
KSJB Radio has reached out to DHS for comment as to why the counties were listed, and why the list was removed over the weekend. The department has not yet responded to our requests for comment.
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