Democrat sanctuary leaders defy Trump admin ultimatum: ‘No intention of changing’

Sanctuary jurisdictions are remaining defiant after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a deadline to begin cooperating with federal authorities by this week. States like Washington say they have “no intention of changing our values in the face of threats from the Trump administration.”

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, sent Bondi a response letter in which he wrote, “You are hereby notified that Washington State will not be bullied or intimidated by threats and legally baseless accusations.”

In his response to Bondi, which was shared with Fox News Digital, Ferguson wrote that “our state legislature passed a bipartisan law that appropriately and lawfully limits the diversion of our state and local resources to federal immigration enforcement.” He also ripped into Bondi personally, writing that her “threat to criminally prosecute state officials embarrasses and disgraces the office.”

“Washington State is proud to be a welcoming community that values immigrants’ and refugees’ contributions to our economy and our cultural fabric. We do so while accounting for and complying with applicable federal law,” he claimed.

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“You seem to believe that cavalierly threatening criminal prosecution will result in me compromising the values of my state. Never,” he added. “I am prepared to defend Washington from any litigation you wish to pursue. If you choose to challenge me and my state, be advised that we will defeat you and seek all appropriate costs and fees.”

In another X post, Ferguson wrote, “Washington state has no intention of changing our values in the face of threats from the Trump administration.”

Bondi announced Thursday she had sent letters giving sanctuary jurisdictions nationwide one week to comply with federal immigration laws or face Department of Justice action. Speaking on Fox Business, Bondi said she sent letters to 32 mayors and seven governors, “telling them you better comply or you’re next.”

Bondi highlighted a letter she sent to California Gov. Gavin Newsom in which she warned that “individuals operating under the color of law, using their official position to obstruct federal immigration enforcement efforts and facilitating or inducing illegal immigration may be subject to criminal charges.”

The letter, shared on social media, said cooperation between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including on immigration enforcement, “is vital to enforce federal law and protect national security.”

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom gives a speech on redistricting. (Reuters/Mike Blake)

“Under President Trump’s leadership, full cooperation by state and local governments in immigration enforcement efforts is a top priority,” Bondi wrote, saying Trump directed her to “identify sanctuary jurisdictions and notify them of their unlawful sanctuary status and potential violations of federal law.” 

Several other Democratic-controlled sanctuary jurisdictions have similarly taken a defiant tone in their response to Bondi’s letter.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, a Democrat, held a raucous press conference on Tuesday, daring Bondi to follow through on her letter.

“Stop attacking our cities to hide your administration’s failures,” Wu said. “Unlike the Trump administration, Boston follows the law. … You are wrong on the law, and you are wrong on safety.

“The cities that live in your minds are totally foreign to the residents living in our cities,” she aded. “And we are picking up the pieces of your failures to deliver on your promises.” She also accused the Trump administration of increasing costs on Americans.

Newsom, rumored to have presidential aspirations, called Bondi’s letter “yet another attempt by the federal government to pressure states into bending the knee and accepting their authoritarian tactics.”

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Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at a press conference outlining the city’s response to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s demand that Boston cooperate with federal mass deportations. (Getty Images/Lane Turner)

Newsom’s office shared a letter with Fox News Digital that was sent by the governor’s legal affairs secretary, David Sapp, to Bondi that pointed to a 2019 ruling by the 9th Circuit Court that said, “California has the right, pursuant to the [Tenth Amendment’s] anticommandeering rule, to refrain from assisting with federal efforts.” 

Sapp claimed that threatening to pursue prosecutions in California “would flout the rule of law, as well as likely constitute malicious prosecution.”

In another statement shared with Fox News Digital, Newsom said, “The courts have reaffirmed the validity of California’s laws time and again” and “we will not be bullied into relinquishing our sovereignty.”

The leader of California’s northern neighbor, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, was equally defiant, saying on X, “I will fight for the safety and prosperity of every Oregonian, from recent immigrants to people who have been here for generations.”

Kotek’s office shared her response letter to Bondi, which was sent on Tuesday, in which she said she “respectfully disagrees” with Bondi’s assertions that Oregon law “thwarts federal immigration enforcement.”

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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul shot back against Bondi, accusing her of believing “states are merely vassals of the federal government.” (Alex Kent/Getty Images)

“No Oregon public official or law enforcement officer is engaged in any activity to ‘obstruct’ federal immigration efforts,” she claimed. “Therefore, no ‘immediate initiatives’ are necessary to eliminate laws.”

Despite the pushback, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice told Fox News that the agency is now negotiating with multiple jurisdictions to end sanctuary policies.

A DOJ spokesperson pointed Fox News Digital to several lawsuits the agency has already filed against Los Angeles, New York state, Colorado, Illinois and several other cities.

The office of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul shared a letter she sent Bondi on Tuesday, in which the governor accused the attorney general of believing “states are merely vassals of the federal government.”

Hochul wrote that “these disputes are rightly before the courts for resolution” and that “in the meantime, I will continue to uphold my constitutional duty to take care that the laws of New York are faithfully executed.”

Eric Maruyama, a spokesperson for Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by saying, “Colorado is not a sanctuary state.”

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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks at the office of The Center for American Progress (CAP) Action Fund on March 18, 2025 in Washington, DC.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Maruyama said that Polis “continues to be frustrated by this mistaken and incorrect label and the lack of transparency from the federal administration on this and many other items.” 

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“In Colorado, we are improving public safety, apprehending dangerous criminals, cooperating with federal law enforcement on criminal investigations, and keeping our communities safe,” he went on. “The Governor encourages the federal administration – and Congress – to focus on actually securing the border, decreasing violent crime, increasing transparency, and passing real immigration reform.”

A spokesperson for Pritzker pointed to a statement the governor posted on X in which he claimed Illinois beat the Trump administration in federal court, saying, “Their case challenging the bipartisan TRUST Act was dismissed — unlike the President, we follow the law and listen to the courts.” 

The DOJ’s lawsuit was dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, for lack of standing. The DOJ can still appeal the decision. 

Fox News Digital also reached out to the offices of Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass but did not receive statements in response by the time of publication. 

Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz, Danielle Wallace and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.