Advancement Project Reaction to Policing and Sanctuary Cities Executive Orders
April 28, 2025
Washington, DC – In response to news that President Trump signed two executive orders yesterday on sanctuary cities and policing, Advancement Project executive director Judith Browne Dianis issued this statement:
“Tonight’s executive orders reveal the administration’s deeply troubling stance on policing and immigration, signaling a deliberate effort to undermine accountability and target vulnerable communities.
For years, our communities have called out the deep failures of a policing and criminal legal system that has never delivered true accountability, even under existing oversight mechanisms. Consent decrees, legal settlements, and limited reforms have always fallen short of addressing the systemic harm inflicted on Black and brown communities. But rather than strengthening those safeguards, President Trump’s latest executive actions seek to tear them down entirely.
By directing the federal government to provide legal support — including private sector pro bono resources — to officers accused of misconduct, the administration is tipping the scales even further in favor of law enforcement, effectively protecting those accused of abuse instead of the people they harm. The order to review and potentially roll back all federal consent decrees and related legal agreements within 60 days threatens what little federal oversight of abusive departments still exists.
Equally alarming is the administration’s renewed push to send military-grade weapons to local police and expand the prison system. These policies are a direct assault on communities that have already suffered under decades of policing and under-investment.
Further escalating the crisis is the executive order aimed at sanctuary cities. By directing the creation of a list of jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, and threatening to withhold their federal funding, the administration is attempting to punish states and localities that choose to protect immigrants. This move represents a clear escalation in the ongoing campaign to dismantle the few remaining safeguards for immigrant communities.
We call on all communities to stand united against these mounting attacks. We must continue to organize, resist, and protect one another.”
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Advancement Project is a next-generation, multi-racial civil rights organization. Rooted in the great human rights struggles for equality and justice, we exist to fulfill America’s promise of a caring, inclusive and just democracy. We use innovative tools and strategies to strengthen social movements and achieve high impact policy change. We are a co-convener of the National Campaign for Police Free schools, a formation of 20+ youth-led grassroots organizations fighting to end the criminalization of youth in the classroom, create liberatory educational spaces, and implement an affirmative vision of safety and transformative justice. Visit www.advancementproject.org to learn more.
