Federal prosecutors have been ordered to investigate and bring possible legal action against cities and counties, like Columbus and Franklin County, should they not comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.
Columbus and Franklin County have policies that can put them at odds with ICE's immigration enforcement. The agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is expected to step up deportations of undocumented immigrants under President Donald Trump's administration.
As of Thursday, it is unclear if ICE has conducted any deportation operations in Franklin County since Trump took office earlier in the week. ICE and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio did not respond to a request for comment before deadline.
A memo sent to the Department of Justice outlines steps the DOJ plans to take against places like Columbus and Franklin County.
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The Columbus Division of Police told WOSU it has a policy that states sworn personnel will not arrest or detain people based solely on immigration status or for ICE unless a warrant exists or a criminal violation was observed.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther's office in a statement his 2017 executive order which mirrors the policies of so-called sanctuary cities has not changed.
“Mayor Ginther’s 2017 executive order affirms that we will protect the well-being and safety of everyone who lives in our city. The city will not discriminate against people based on their immigration status, and absent a court order, won’t be deploying resources for the sole purpose of detecting or apprehending someone based on suspicions of their immigration status," the statement said.
The statement said the city will comply with state and federal laws, and will hold people accountable if they commit a crime, but the city’s participation in immigration investigations is limited to situations where there’s been a crime.
"It’s not a productive exercise to speculate at future policy changes. Today, our policy remains our policy –and our policy is in compliance with state and federal law," the statement said.
Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin said in a statement his office follows all applicable laws. Baldwin said they have not been approached with any requests to assist ICE so far.
"The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office follows all applicable laws and remains committed to serving and protecting our community. At this time, there have been no changes to our role or responsibilities regarding immigration enforcement," Baldwin said.
RELATED: Immigration advocates call on Ohio sheriffs not to take part in Trump's plans for mass deportations
Last year, the sheriff's office told WOSU that the Sheriff is not an ICE detention facility. The office said that it only honors valid criminal detainers issued by a court of competent jurisdiction. A detainer is a request to keep a suspect or criminal in custody to be released to ICE.
In the DOJ memo, Acting Attorney General James McHenry said the department under Trump is helping crack down on immigration primarily due to cartels and transnational criminal organizations; violent crime by members of these organizations and other undocumented immigrants; and because of the impacts of the fentanyl crisis opioid epidemic.
The actions he outlines stem from Trump's Jan. 20 executive order titled "Protecting The American People Against Invasion."
The memo said that state and local actors are required to comply with the executive branch's immigration enforcement initiatives. It said federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands.
"The U.S. Attorney's Offices and litigating components of the Department of Justice shall investigate incidents involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution, including for obstructing federal functions," the memo said. "Declination decisions with respect to resistance, obstruction, or other non-compliance with lawful immigration-related commands and requests from federal authorities shall be disclosed as Urgent Reports."
The memo said the DOJ civil division will work with a newly established Sanctuary Cities Enforcement Working Group to identify state and local laws, policies and activities that are inconsistent with federal immigration initiatives and take legal action against those laws.
