Judge says federal court can’t rule on challenge to Orleans sheriff’s ‘sanctuary’ policy

By: Bobbi-Jeanne Misick, Verite

Outlets: Louisiana Illuminator

Published: February 25, 2026

Words: 969

Last Updated: 2 weeks, 1 day ago

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NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge last week temporarily halted the state of Louisiana’s legal challenge to the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office’s longstanding immigration policy, which prohibits jail staff from honoring federal immigration detainer requests to hold local arrestees suspected of being in the country illegally past their release dates.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Janis van Meerveld ruled Feb. 18 that the central question in the case — whether a recently enacted state ban on so-called …

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