In order to be removed from the Trump administration’s list of sanctuary cities, Louisville, Kentucky, will be reverting to a pre-2017 policy that gives more notice to the Department of Homeland Security when an inmate with an immigration detainer is set to be released.
Democratic Mayor Craig Greenberg, in remarks published to the city’s website, said he received a letter from the Department of Justice last month explaining that Louisville had been deemed a sanctuary city and could be punished because it was “in violation of federal law for not holding inmates in custody at our jail for up to 48 hours.”
Detainers are a request from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to both notify the agency “as early as possible” before releasing a “removable alien” and to hold a “removable alien” for up to 48 hours beyond when they would be normally released, so the Department of Homeland Security can take custody.