From the Daily Mail: The Democrat mayor of Louisville, Kentucky, announced that the city will change some of its immigration policies, making it no longer a sanctuary city.
Mayor Craig Greenberg announced on Tuesday that the city will reinstate a policy requiring ICE to receive 48 hours’ notice before inmates with immigration detainers are released from jail, reported WAVE.
The policy requires that inmates booked at Louisville Metro Corrections be fingerprinted and entered into a federal database accessible by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
If Homeland Security informs Metro Corrections that an inmate has a detainer, the jail will provide immigration with a 48-hour notice before the inmate is released.
The city had a 48-hour policy until 2017, but had reduced it to a 5 to 12-hour window, which landed them in hot water with the federal government, according to Greenberg.
Today, I shared an important update regarding a change at our Louisville Metro Department of Corrections.
Learn more here: https://t.co/TvxcuFOZGs pic.twitter.com/A4sVoSbqIW
— Mayor Craig Greenberg (@LouisvilleMayor) July 22, 2025
The Mayor announced the change in a press release on Tuesday:
On June 25, I received a letter from the U.S. Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. It stated that the Trump Administration deemed Louisville to be a “sanctuary city” because we are in violation of federal law for not holding inmates in custody at our jail for up to 48 hours on what are called immigration detainers. A detainer is a federal document that asks a jail to hold a specific inmate, who is already in custody for a crime and is also unlawfully present in the United States, for extra time, to allow the federal government to take custody of that inmate.
I want to make it clear – this issue changes nothing with regards to LMPD policy or practice. LMPD is not involved in enforcing federal immigration policy. This is only about inmates who are arrested for crimes, are booked in our jail, and are subject to deportation notices. Our police department will remain focused on public safety and preventing violent crime in Louisville.
The Assistant Attorney General also stated that Louisville’s current practice violates federal law and when federal law conflicts with state or local laws, federal law governs.
The federal government’s 48-hour detainer is standard practice for the State of Kentucky’s Department of Corrections today. It was also standard practice for Louisville Metro Corrections until 2017. We are currently the only city in Kentucky that doesn’t follow this practice.
Now, when any inmate is booked into our jail, they are fingerprinted and entered into a federal database to which the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has access. This has been the practice for years – well before I was elected mayor. If Homeland Security tells Metro Corrections that an inmate has a detainer, Metro Corrections notifies DHS when the inmate will be released. Right now, Metro Corrections provides that notice to DHS about 5-12 hours before the inmate is released. Prior to 2017, DHS received 48 hours notice.
I have been assured by the U.S. Department of Justice that, if we reinstate the 48-hour detainers for inmates who’ve been arrested for crimes, Louisville will be taken off the federal sanctuary city list.
Accordingly, Metro Corrections will begin honoring 48-hour federal detainers as soon as practical because the stakes are too high.
In turn, Louisville will no longer be considered a “sanctuary city” by the federal government. This change in designation is critical. Cities on the sanctuary city list right now are experiencing a terrifying increase in raids by ICE, including mass raids. Just look at what’s gone on in LA and other cities across the country.I’ve talked with leaders within our immigrant community before I made this decision. I heard their fears loud and clear about current federal policies and ICE actions. I also heard that they want Louisville off the federal sanctuary city list. This change removes Louisville from that list.
From the data I’ve reviewed, we’re talking about under 100 inmates at our jail each year who are charged with crimes and affected by detainers. We have tens of thousands of immigrant families in Louisville. We do not want to see highly coordinated and often violent federal enforcement action here, especially in workplaces, residential areas, schools, places of worship, parks, and other areas where law-abiding people gather. We do not want the National Guard occupying the streets of Louisville. I will not risk the safety of our broader immigrant community.
In addition, Louisville stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants if we remain classified as a sanctuary city. Many of those funds are used to provide food, rental assistance, and medical care to our most vulnerable residents. I will not risk hurting them either.
I believe we will best protect our law-abiding immigrant community and our entire city by focusing the Trump Administration’s immigration enforcement actions on the few inmates in our jail who have been arrested for committing crimes and are subject to deportation.
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