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How in the World Did Fresno End Up on Trump's Sanctuary Cities List?
Portrait of GV Wire News Director Bill McEwen
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 3 months ago on
May 30, 2025

"Fresno is not, by any definition, a sanctuary city," said Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer after California's fifth-largest city wound up on the Trump administration's list of more than 500 sanctuary jurisdictions. (GV Wire Composite/Paul Marshall)

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Fresno is on a list of “sanctuary cities” compiled by the Trump administration, and Mayor Jerry Dyer has no idea how California’s fifth-largest city got there.

“Fresno is not, by any definition, a sanctuary city. We are awaiting clarification from DHS to better understand the basis for this designation and will determine our next steps once we have more information.” — Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer

“It’s unclear to me how the City of Fresno ended up on a Department of Homeland Security list of jurisdictions that allegedly have obstructed federal immigration enforcement,” Dyer said in a statement to GV Wire. “Fresno is not, by any definition, a sanctuary city. We are awaiting clarification from DHS to better understand the basis for this designation and will determine our next steps once we have more information.”

Many other cities, communities, and counties across the nation are also wondering how Trump’s team evaluated them.

For example, Jim Davel, administrator for Shawano County, Wisconsin, said the inclusion of his community must be a clerical error. Davel voted for Trump, as did 67% of Shawano County.

“We have no idea how we got on this list whatsoever right at this point,” Davel told The Associated Press. “I think it was just a big mix up, probably some paperwork or something.”

There are potential consequences to being on the list, including the loss of federal contracts and grant funding.

Fresno’s Policy on Immigration Enforcement

While Fresno has never declared itself a sanctuary city, its policy is to comply with state Senate Bill 54, which is known as the California Values Act. Under California law, no state and local resources can be used in federal immigration enforcement including at schools and courthouses.

In a March interview with GV Wire, Fresno Police Chief Mindy Casto said, “We don’t ask immigration status, whether it’s legal or illegal. If you’re violating the law in Fresno and its a statute that we have jurisdiction over, then you’re going to be arrested.”

Sanctuary Cities Say They Won’t Be Bullied by Trump

Areas with policies standing up for immigrants says they won’t buckle to the Trump.

“This is simply the latest attempt by the Trump administration to strong-arm cities like Seattle into changing our local policies through bluster and threats to critical federal funding for public safety and homelessness,” Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell emailed to AP. “It’s not going to work — the law is on our side — and we will not hesitate to protect our people and stand up for our values.”

Homeland Security issued its list of more than 500 “sanctuary jurisdictions” on Thursday.

“The list below was created to identify sanctuary jurisdictions, which are determined by factors like compliance with federal law enforcement, information restrictions, and legal protections for illegal aliens,” Homeland Security stated.

“Each jurisdiction listed will receive formal notification of its non-compliance with Federal statutes. DHS demands that these jurisdictions immediately review and revise their policies to align with Federal immigration laws and renew their obligation to protect American citizens, not dangerous illegal aliens.”

The agency also noted that “the list can be reviewed and changed at any time and will be updated regularly. No one should act on this information without conducting their own evaluation of the information.”

(The Associated Press contributed to this article.)

 

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Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

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