The Warren County Administrator’s Office learned late Tuesday, August 5, 2025 that Warren County has been removed from an immigration-related “sanctuary county” list compiled earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). County officials had believed the initial designation was erroneous, and after extensive conversations with state and federal officials, a new list was released by DHS this week and Warren County does not appear on it.
Warren County leaders were not notified why they wound up on the initial list, which was posted on a federal website May 30, 2025 with indications that federal funding could be lost by counties deemed as “sanctuaries” for illegal immigrants.
Warren County had not made any declaration regarding immigrant sanctuary, and has always complied with federal, state and local laws.
It was not determined how Warren County wound up designated by DHS, along with two other regional counties, as Warren County did not receive any correspondence from DHS or any other federal agency regarding the designation.
Said Warren County Administrator John Taflan: “We are pleased to learn that DHS no longer considers Warren County a sanctuary jurisdiction, and that our federal funding will not be at risk. We appreciate the assistance we received from our legislative and Congressional representatives, the New York State Association of Counties, the National Association of Counties and the National Sheriff’s Association for their concerted efforts to correct this mistake.”
The newly released list of DHS-designated “sanctuary” jurisdictions can be found here.
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