More than 200 cities, counties, and states across the United States are considered sanctuaries that protect criminal aliens from deportation by refusing to comply with ICE detainers or otherwise impede open communication and information exchanges between their employees or officers and federal immigration agents. These state and local jurisdictions have policies, laws, executive orders, or regulations to this effect. These sanctuary policies obstruct federal law authorizing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to administratively deport illegal aliens without seeking criminal warrants or convictions from federal, state, or local courts. Although federal regulations plainly require cooperation, the federal government has never sued nor sanctioned a sanctuary jurisdiction, nor denied federal funds. In contrast, the Obama administration has made it difficult for the states and localities which choose to aid in enforcing immigration laws, in some cases going so far as to sue to have such assistance prohibited. In addition, in a November 2014 policy memorandum signed by the Homeland Security Secretary, the administration reversed longstanding policies by directing ICE agents not to issue detainers except in rare circumstances, and explicitly allowing sanctuaries to ignore ICE efforts to take custody of deportable criminal aliens.
The map shows Travis County as a sanctuary county, not San Antonio. Austin is in Travis County.