Analysis: Nearly 8 Million Illegals Living in Sanctuary Cities Across U.S.

Almost 8 million illegal aliens reside in sanctuary jurisdictions across the United States, new analysis reveals.

The analysis from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), which tracks sanctuary jurisdictions that protect illegal aliens from federal immigration law, found that roughly 7.9 million illegal aliens are residing in sanctuary states, counties, and cities.

“Although there is much imprecision in the data, the bottom line is that close to eight million illegal aliens, equaling 56 percent of the estimated nationwide total, live in sanctuary jurisdictions,” CIS’s Jason Richwine writes.

Specifically, Richwine finds that some 6.3 million illegal aliens reside in the sanctuary states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, and Washington.

In addition, more than 750,000 illegal aliens reside in Maryland, New Mexico, and Virginia where sanctuary jurisdictions are plentiful.

More than 820,000 illegal aliens live in sanctuary counties and cities in non-sanctuary states like Douglas County, Kansas, and New Orleans, Louisiana.

Richwine suggests that states should follow the lead of Texas and Florida, both high-immigration states that have banned sanctuary jurisdictions.

“Those two states have no local sanctuaries because they ban them statewide. Every state should follow their lead,” Richwine writes. “Eliminating sanctuaries is one of the most important steps that states can take to assist the Trump administration with enforcement.”

Incoming Border Czar Thomas Homan has urged sanctuary states and counties to end their policies protecting illegal aliens from federal immigration law, noting that such policies make it complicated for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to make arrests.

“I want to send a clear message: If you let us in the jail, we can arrest the bad guy in the jail and in the safety and security of the jail,” Homan told Fox News. “One officer could do that, but when you release a public safety threat back in the community, you put the community at risk. You put my officers at risk. You put the alien at risk.”

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.