AG Pam Bondi Orders Halt To DOJ Funding Of ‘Sanctuary’ Cities
Attorney General Pam Bondi swiftly implemented a series of Justice Department directives upon being sworn in Tuesday evening, including an order to cut off funding to "sanctuary" jurisdictions that protect illegal immigrants from federal authorities.
A vocal opponent of sanctuary cities, particularly those governed by Democrats, Bondi has consistently argued that such policies weaken law enforcement efforts and compromise national security.
As a staunch supporter of stricter border security measures, Bondi’s stance is closely aligned with the Trump administration’s approach to illegal immigration.
In addition to defunding sanctuary jurisdictions, Bondi’s memo instructs the DOJ to review and reassess all funding agreements with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that provide assistance to illegal immigrants, as first reported by Fox News.
The memo also contains a directive on “zealous advocacy,” emphasizing that DOJ attorneys are responsible for “aggressively enforcing criminal laws passed by Congress, but also vigorously defending presidential policies and actions on behalf of the United States against legal challenges.”
“The discretion afforded Justice Department attorneys with respect to those responsibilities does not include latitude to substitute their personal political views or judgments for those that prevailed in the election,” the memo states, according to Fox.
“When Justice Department attorneys refuse to faithfully carry out their role by, for example, refusing to advance good-faith arguments or declining to sign briefs, it undermines the constitutional order and deprives the President of the benefit of his lawyers,” the memo continues.
Furthermore, the document warns that “any Justice Department attorney who declines to sign a brief, refuses to advance good-faith arguments on behalf of the Trump administration, or otherwise delays or impedes the Justice Department’s mission will be subject to discipline and potentially termination.”
Bondi is also initiating the “Weaponization Working Group,” which will scrutinize law enforcement actions over the past four years to identify instances of “politicized justice.” The group will begin by examining legal cases against Trump led by former Special Counsel Jack Smith, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who pursued a civil fraud lawsuit against Trump and his family.
Additionally, the working group will probe potential prosecutorial misconduct tied to the January 6, 2021 events, alleged FBI actions targeting Catholic Americans, Justice Department actions against parents at school board meetings, and possible violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, per Fox.
Bondi is also lifting the moratorium on federal executions and instructing federal prosecutors, including U.S. attorneys’ offices, to seek the death penalty in applicable cases, with particular focus on violent drug trafficking offenses.
She has further ordered a reassessment of cases where the previous administration opted not to pursue the death penalty. As the former Florida attorney general, Bondi is expected to revoke any DOJ policies that are “not sufficiently in line with President Trump’s death penalty executive order.”
In December 2024, President Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 individuals on federal death row, whom President Donald Trump had described in his executive order on capital punishment as the “most vile and sadistic rapists, child molesters, and murderers on Federal death row.”
Bondi announced that she is now directing the DOJ to seek justice for the families of the victims whose loved ones were killed by the 37 individuals whose death sentences were commuted.
Regarding cartels, Bondi has instructed the Justice Department to work in close coordination with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to “completely eliminate” threats posed by transnational criminal organizations.
Her directive includes reshaping charging priorities to ensure that law enforcement resources are concentrated on dismantling cartels’ core operational structures, rather than solely targeting lower-level offenders.
The DOJ is also expected to temporarily suspend certain “bureaucratic approvals and reviews” to expedite the prosecution and apprehension of individuals accused of serious crimes such as capital offenses, terrorism, and cartel-related activities, according to Fox.