Sanctuary States

Map

Table

Introduction

Sanctuary states are those that limit or ban cooperation of state and local officials with the federal government in regard to enforcement of immigration law. So, when federal law enforcement agencies are investigating or prosecuting someone for illegal immigration, state and local police departments would be precluded from providing information or assistance under state law.

The meaning of sanctuary states however differs depending on whom one is speaking to. For instance, some see sanctuary states or cities being places where illegal immigrants are protected. While others see these areas as some sort of shelters against aggressive federal deportation policies.

As of 2021, there were seven sanctuary states. However, while there is no statewide sanctuary law in these, four additional states have cities and/or counties that provide sanctuary from federal immigration law.

Learn for yourself about sanctuary states by surveying the data in the charts.

StateSanctuary StatesForeign Born Population
AlabamaNo3.5%
AlaskaNo8.1%
ArizonaNo12.6%
ArkansasNo4.7%
DelawareNo10.1%
FloridaNo21.2%
GeorgiaNo10%
HawaiiNo18.8%
IdahoNo6.1%
IndianaNo5.6%
IowaNo5.4%
KansasNo6.9%
KentuckyNo4%
LouisianaNo4.3%
MaineNo4.1%
MarylandNo15.9%
MichiganNo6.8%
MinnesotaNo8.5%
MississippiNo2.1%
MissouriNo4.1%
MontanaNo2.2%
NebraskaNo7.4%
NevadaNo18.4%
New HampshireNo5.9%
North CarolinaNo8.2%
North DakotaNo4.4%
OhioNo5%
OklahomaNo5.8%
PennsylvaniaNo7.2%
Rhode IslandNo14.5%
South CarolinaNo5.2%
South DakotaNo3.5%
TennesseeNo5.3%
TexasNo17.2%
UtahNo8.3%
VirginiaNo12.4%
West VirginiaNo1.6%
WisconsinNo5.1%
WyomingNo3.4%
CaliforniaYes26.6%
ColoradoYes9.8%
ConnecticutYes15.2%
IllinoisYes14.2%
MassachusettsYes17.6%
New JerseyYes23%
New MexicoYes9.1%
New YorkYes22.3%
OregonYes9.7%
VermontYes4.2%
WashingtonYes14.8%

Sanctuary States by State

Alabama

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do_not_disturb_on

Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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3.5%

Ranked in the US

#46

Foreign Born Population

Alaska

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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8.1%

Ranked in the US

#25

Foreign Born Population

Arizona

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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12.6%

Ranked in the US

#15

Foreign Born Population

Arkansas

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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4.7%

Ranked in the US

#39

Foreign Born Population

California

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Sanctuary States

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Yes

Foreign Born Population

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26.6%

Ranked in the US

#1

Foreign Born Population

Colorado

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Sanctuary States

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Yes

Foreign Born Population

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9.8%

Ranked in the US

#19

Foreign Born Population

Connecticut

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Sanctuary States

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Yes

Foreign Born Population

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15.2%

Ranked in the US

#10

Foreign Born Population

Delaware

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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10.1%

Ranked in the US

#17

Foreign Born Population

Florida

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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21.2%

Ranked in the US

#4

Foreign Born Population

Georgia

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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10%

Ranked in the US

#18

Foreign Born Population

Hawaii

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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18.8%

Ranked in the US

#5

Foreign Born Population

Idaho

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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6.1%

Ranked in the US

#30

Foreign Born Population

Illinois

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Sanctuary States

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Yes

Foreign Born Population

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14.2%

Ranked in the US

#13

Foreign Born Population

Indiana

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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5.6%

Ranked in the US

#33

Foreign Born Population

Iowa

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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5.4%

Ranked in the US

#34

Foreign Born Population

Kansas

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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6.9%

Ranked in the US

#28

Foreign Born Population

Kentucky

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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4%

Ranked in the US

#45

Foreign Born Population

Louisiana

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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4.3%

Ranked in the US

#41

Foreign Born Population

Maine

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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4.1%

Ranked in the US

#43

Foreign Born Population

Maryland

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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15.9%

Ranked in the US

#9

Foreign Born Population

Massachusetts

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Sanctuary States

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Yes

Foreign Born Population

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17.6%

Ranked in the US

#7

Foreign Born Population

Michigan

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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6.8%

Ranked in the US

#29

Foreign Born Population

Minnesota

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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8.5%

Ranked in the US

#22

Foreign Born Population

Mississippi

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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2.1%

Ranked in the US

#50

Foreign Born Population

Missouri

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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4.1%

Ranked in the US

#44

Foreign Born Population

Montana

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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2.2%

Ranked in the US

#49

Foreign Born Population

Nebraska

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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7.4%

Ranked in the US

#26

Foreign Born Population

Nevada

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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18.4%

Ranked in the US

#6

Foreign Born Population

New Hampshire

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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5.9%

Ranked in the US

#31

Foreign Born Population

New Jersey

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Sanctuary States

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Yes

Foreign Born Population

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23%

Ranked in the US

#2

Foreign Born Population

New Mexico

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Sanctuary States

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Yes

Foreign Born Population

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9.1%

Ranked in the US

#21

Foreign Born Population

New York

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Sanctuary States

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Yes

Foreign Born Population

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22.3%

Ranked in the US

#3

Foreign Born Population

North Carolina

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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8.2%

Ranked in the US

#24

Foreign Born Population

North Dakota

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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4.4%

Ranked in the US

#40

Foreign Born Population

Ohio

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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5%

Ranked in the US

#38

Foreign Born Population

Oklahoma

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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5.8%

Ranked in the US

#32

Foreign Born Population

Oregon

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Sanctuary States

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Yes

Foreign Born Population

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9.7%

Ranked in the US

#20

Foreign Born Population

Pennsylvania

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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7.2%

Ranked in the US

#27

Foreign Born Population

Rhode Island

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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14.5%

Ranked in the US

#12

Foreign Born Population

South Carolina

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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5.2%

Ranked in the US

#36

Foreign Born Population

South Dakota

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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3.5%

Ranked in the US

#47

Foreign Born Population

Tennessee

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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5.3%

Ranked in the US

#35

Foreign Born Population

Texas

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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17.2%

Ranked in the US

#8

Foreign Born Population

Utah

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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8.3%

Ranked in the US

#23

Foreign Born Population

Vermont

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Sanctuary States

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Yes

Foreign Born Population

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4.2%

Ranked in the US

#42

Foreign Born Population

Virginia

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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12.4%

Ranked in the US

#16

Foreign Born Population

Washington

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Sanctuary States

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Yes

Foreign Born Population

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14.8%

Ranked in the US

#11

Foreign Born Population

West Virginia

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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1.6%

Ranked in the US

#51

Foreign Born Population

Wisconsin

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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5.1%

Ranked in the US

#37

Foreign Born Population

Wyoming

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Sanctuary States

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No

Foreign Born Population

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3.4%

Ranked in the US

#48

Foreign Born Population