sanctuary city

[ sangk-choo-er-ee sit-ee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a city in which the local government and police protect undocumented immigrants and refugees from deportation by federal authorities:
sanctuary cities where law enforcement cannot question crime suspects about their immigration status.

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Word History and Origins

First recorded in 1865–70 in the sense “place of immunity from arrest”; the current sense, in 1980–85; possibly related to “Cities of Refuge” named in the Bible in the books of Joshua, Deuteronomy, and Numbers

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The Los Angeles City Council also backed a “sanctuary city” law that forbids city employees and resources from being involved in federal immigration enforcement.

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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the sanctuary city executive order in a morning news briefing as “focused on protecting American communities from criminal aliens.”

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“The only way this will be a sanctuary city is if the source of information is stopped.”

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L.A.’s “sanctuary city” law is another issue that divides Park and most of her council colleagues.

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"A lot of people are in fear, so it would be really important for us to come together and show a unified support system that's here in Memphis, that people don't have to leave the city or the state to flee to a sanctuary city or state, that there is a sanctuary within the state of Tennessee," Gore said, adding that she's hoping to provide a glimpse of that during a rally for International Transgender Day of Visibility on Monday.

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sanctuary sanctuary lamp

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