Louisville, Kentucky, is walking back a key immigration policy after the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a stark legal threat, warning that the city’s practices placed it in direct conflict with federal law and could expose it to serious consequences.
Mayor Craig Greenberg, a Democrat, confirmed the dramatic shift in a letter to the DOJ on Monday, revealing that the city would now comply with federal immigration detainers—effectively abandoning its so-called “sanctuary” stance.
The move follows pressure from the Trump administration’s DOJ, which had accused Louisville of obstructing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by ignoring its requests to hold illegal immigrant suspects in local jails.
Greenberg’s letter, obtained by Fox News Digital, made it clear the city’s policy change is aimed at avoiding litigation and federal penalties.
“The city will, therefore, adjust its detainer policy to avoid litigation over DOJ’s allegations of federal preemption,” Greenberg wrote to Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate.
Under the new policy, Louisville will return to its pre-2017 standard of honoring ICE detainers for up to 48 hours.
Prior to this reversal, local authorities provided only five to 12 hours’ notice to ICE, often releasing individuals from custody before federal agents could detain them.
Sanctuary cities