Sanctuary Cities and Federal Law: A Constitutional Crisis

By Scott Powell
Monday, 03 November 2025 12:47 PM EST

The mainstream media and deep state would lead us to believe the American people are more divided than in prior trying times such as during the Civil War or the divisive civil rights/anti-Vietnam War period of the late 1960s and early 1970s. While it is true that there may be more incidents of extremism and violence coming from the left today, it is also important to recognize that there were major moral issues at stake in each of those prior times. Moral opposition to slavery was associated with the Civil War, and there was a moral opposition to the Vietnam War and a moral basis for racial equality in the Civil Rights movement.

Today’s urban divisiveness and violence is greater than in the 1960s, yet there is not a clear moral basis behind today’s street warfare. Moreover, there is visceral opposition and hatred to a popularly elected president who is carrying out his campaign promises and his oath to the Constitution as he understands it. President Trump’s policy priorities for America include securing the U.S. borders and completing the U.S. border wall, strengthening legal immigration and deporting foreigners who entered America illegally with an early focus on criminals, gangs, and cartel members engaged in criminal activities that threaten American citizens, bringing foreign investment into the U.S., rebuilding America’s manufacturing capabilities, ending unfair trade practices, establishing reciprocal tariffs, achieving energy independence, prioritizing domestic mining and processing of critical minerals, ending foreign wars, pursuing peace through strength, closing failing government agencies such as the Department of Education, dismantling the unconstitutional administrative state, and ending “gender insanity” in schools, sports, and protecting parental rights.

Many Americans welcome the Trump administration’s common-sense approach to addressing the nation’s problems. Yet, the response from some judges, and state and local government officials who embrace “sanctuary cities”—whose primary purpose is to provide a safe-haven for illegal immigrants—has been visceral opposition to major Trump initiatives, particularly regarding deportation and restoring law and order. As of mid-2025, the most comprehensive tally identified approximately 1,003 sanctuary jurisdictions nationwide, including cities, counties, and states. Narrower counts focusing primarily on cities where crime is concentrated (excluding counties and states) place the number at around 220.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has sued the federal government over immigration enforcement threats, and he protects illegal immigrants under the sanctuary status by refusing to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Oregon Governor Tina Kotek says she “will not back down” from protecting immigrants from ICE. Things have gotten out of control in many sanctuary cities, with not only the number of violent confrontations increasing but also the level of violence intensifying. Vehicular violence against ICE personnel and vehicles surged in 2025, with life-threatening assaults in at least ten major cities. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reports that increases in assaults are up by over 1,000% compared to the previous year. These incidents often involve suspects using vehicles to ram ICE vehicles during enforcement operations, often leading to shootings and hospitalizations.

Governors and mayors in the United States typically take an oath of office that includes a pledge to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution against enemies, foreign and domestic, though the exact wording varies by city and state. Most importantly, the Supremacy Clause, in Article VI, Clause 2 of the Constitution makes it clear that federal laws are the supreme Law of the Land, and take precedence over state and local laws, such as any pertaining to local or state sanctuary protection. Thus, when President Trump decides to deal with violence and enforce national security laws by deporting illegal immigrants according to Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution, state governors and city mayors are obliged to cooperate. If they choose local or state sanctuary laws over federal national security immigration law, they should be overridden and removed from office.