Following his inauguration on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump issued several executive orders, one of which was issued Jan. 25 titled, “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States.” Among other things, this order punishes so-called “sanctuary jurisdictions” by stripping them of federal grants. As justification for this punitive measure, the order states that “sanctuary jurisdictions … willfully violate federal law in an attempt to shield aliens from removal. … These jurisdictions have caused immeasurable harm to the American people and to the very fabric of our republic.”
In the months since the order, many state and local entities have parsed the order to determine whether they would be considered a “sanctuary jurisdiction,” what funding may be in jeopardy and whether they can modify their policies to limit or eliminate application of the order. In the midst of these uncertainties, many municipalities also have been faced with the issue of how to address the potential consequences of “sanctuary jurisdiction” status in their public offering documents when they are considering issuing municipal bonds for sale to the investor public.
