Louisville Revises Sanctuary Policies: Early Indicator of Growing Trend?
July 25, 2025
Louisville KY citiscape
While many jurisdictions have refused to reverse their illegal alien sanctuary policies – some even doubling down so as to audaciously defy President Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts – Louisville, Kentucky, has chosen to do otherwise. That city’s recent changes to its sanctuary policy may be an early sign that top-down pressure from Washington, D.C., is proving to be effective leverage against sanctuary jurisdictions.
On June 25, the Department of Justice (DOJ) advised Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg that his city was classified as a sanctuary city because of its lax detainer policies and, as such, faces legal and fiscal sanctions. Unlike public officials in other cities receiving similar DOJ notices who have apparently let them linger at the bottom of in-boxes, Greenberg took his letter seriously and reacted with lightning speed.
In his response to the DOJ less than one month later, Greenberg acknowledged that “your letter has made clear the consequences of being a sanctuary jurisdiction are significant and will have major impacts on our city moving forward.” Then, as if to amplify his ‘I hear you loud and clear’ sentiment, Greenberg assured the DOJ, “I understand the gravity of this situation, given what is laid out in your letter and what we see happening across our country right now to other cities that DOJ considers to be sanctuary jurisdictions.”
Greenberg then advised the DOJ that the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections will immediately begin notifying the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at least 48 hours before an inmate with an immigration detainer is scheduled to be released. Louisville previously provided DHS only 5 to 12 hours advance notice. The new directive allows time for immigration officials to take illegal aliens into custody and reduces the risk to the public that they would be simply released back into the community.
https://www.fairus.org/blog/2025/07/25/louisville-revises-sanctuary-policies-early-indicator-growing-trend
