#Abortion Sanctuary State

[fillejondrette]

if you want to know what it's like to live in ohio, just know that my town designated itself as a sanctuary city for the unborn, which meant that it was illegal to get or assist someone else to get an abortion, even if the support consisted of giving them money to get an abortion in columbus or whatever.

[kcinpa]

TL;DR Project 2025

Project 2025 has crossed my dash several times, so maybe tumblr is already informed about the hellish 900-page takeover plan if Trump wins office again. But even the articles covering Project 2025 can be a LOT of reading. So I'm trying to get it down to simple bulleted lists…

Navigator Research (a progressive polling outfit) found that 7 in 10 Americans are unfamiliar with Project 2025. But the more they learn about it, the more they don't like or want it. When asked about a series of policy plans taken directly from Project 2025, the bipartisan survey group responded most negatively to the following:

Allowing employers to stop paying hourly workers overtime

Allowing the government to monitor people’s pregnancies to potentially prosecute them if they miscarry

Removing health care protections for people with pre-existing conditions

Eliminating the National Weather Service, which is currently responsible for preparing for extreme weather events like heat waves, floods, and wildfires

Eliminating the Head Start program, ending preschool education for the children of low-income families

Putting a new tax on health insurance for millions of people who get insurance through their employer

Banning Medicare from negotiating for lower prescription drug costs and eliminating the $35 monthly cap on the price of insulin for seniors

Cutting Social Security benefits by raising the retirement age

Allowing employers to deny workers access to birth control

Laurie Garrett looked at the roughly 50 pages within Project 2025 that deal with Health and Human Services (HHS) and other health agencies, and summarized them on Twitter/X in a series of replies. I've shortened even more here:

HHS must "respect for the sacred rights of conscience" for Federal workers & healthcare providers and workers broadly who object to abortions, contraception, gender reassignment & other issues - ie. allow them to deny services based on religious beliefs

HHS should promote "stable and flourishing married families."

Require all welfare programs to "promote father involvement" – or terminate their funding for mothers and children.

Prioritize adoptions via faith-based organizations.

Redefine sex, eliminating all forms of gender "confusion" regarding identity and orientation.

Eliminate the Head Start program for children, entirely

Ban all funding of Planned Parenthood

Ban birth control services that are "egregious attacks on many Americans' religious & moral beliefs"

Deny pregnancy termination pills, "mail-order abortions."

Eliminate Office of Refugee Resettlement; move all refugee matters to the Department of Homeland Security

Healthcare should be "market-based"

Ban all mask and vaccine requirements.

Closely regulate the NIH w/citizen ethics panels, ensuring that no research involves fetal tissue, leads to development of new forms of Abortions or brings profits to the researchers.

Redirect the Office of Global Affairs to promoting "moral conscience" & full compliance w/the Mexico City policy

The CDC should have no role in medical policies.

"Because liberal states have now become sanctuaries for abortion tourism," HHS should use every available tool, including the cutting of funds, to ensure that every state reports exactly how many abortions take place within its borders, at what gestational age of the child, for what reason, the mother’s state of residence & by what method.

I'm still looking for a good short summary of the environmental horrors that Project 2025 would bring if it comes to fruition…

[run-of-the-milf]

"Tim Walz will unleash Hell on earth!!!!" Lmfao 🤣 Truly that idiot would say the exact same thing about whoever Harris chose.

As a Minnesotan, I can assure you we're doing great over here in our LGBT sanctuary state with our abortion rights enshrined in the state constitution, universal school meals for all children, increased background checks for firearms, paid family and medical leave, and expanded accessibility to voting for all Minnesotans 🫶

[spacelazarwolf]

i looked up the current candidates for the 2024 presidential election in the usa and it is. really fucking bleak.

democrats:

joe biden - current president. doing...ok. he's pro trans rights and has been doing some good stuff to fight climate change, but he's like a hundred years old and

robert f kennedy jr - seems to have decent opinions on a lot of policy, but thinks that chemicals in the water are making kids transgender and has suggested that covid is a conspiracy by ashkenazi jews and chinese people

marianne williamson - anti vaxxer apparently, also i guess thinks love is the only thing that will defeat trump

republicans:

ryan binkley - conservative pastor that thinks marriage is "between one man and one woman", anti choice, wants to Build A Wall

doug burgum - republican governor that has actively passed anti trans legislation, anti regulation (unless what you're regulating is trans people ig????)

chris christie - is apparently opposed to bans on gender affirming care, but vetoed a bill allowing trans people to change their gender marker, anti choice

ron desantis - i feel like i don't need to explain

larry elder - denies systemic racism and wants police to be harder on crime, anti crt and dei, pretty solidly anti trans

nikki haley - anti choice, extremely anti trans, anti immigrant, supports israel while also having an evangelical pastor who has a history of antisemitism and racism and queerphobia open for one of her events

will hurd - doesn't seem too horrendous, not noticeably anti trans, but supports 15 week abortion ban

asa hutchinson - great value brand trump

perry johnson - was republican candidate for governor of michigan but was disqualified due to fraudulent ballot signatures

mike pence - yeah

vivek ramaswamy - "anti wokeism", would pass a law requiring teachers to disclose to parents if they found out their kid is trans, supports bans on gender affirming care, wants to end sanctuary cities and address mental health through "faith based approaches", hedge fund bro

tim scott - said that america is not a racist country and the biggest problem facing black people is "fatherlessness incentivized by welfare", opposes same sex marriage and gender affirming care and thinks democrats are using school to "indoctrinate children"

corey stapleton - montana secretary of state, couldn't find much abt him

donald trump - donald trump

independent

cornel west (green party) - seems really cool actually but two party system will fuck him over

i hate the two party system so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

also congrats to the dems for yet another milquetoast kennedy, and congrats to the republicans for having the most racially diverse list of racist and transphobic candidates!!!

[reasonsforhope]

"Bria Peacock chose a career in medicine because the Black Georgia native saw the dire health needs in her community — including access to abortion care.

Her commitment to becoming a maternal health care provider was sparked early on when she witnessed the discrimination and judgment leveled against her older sister, who became a mother as a teen. When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Peacock was already in her residency program in California, and her thoughts turned back to women like her sister.

“I knew that the people — my people, my community back home — was going to be affected in a dramatic way, because they’re in the South and because they’re Black,” she said.

But even though Peacock attended the Medical College of Georgia, she’s doing her obstetrics and gynecology residency at the University of California-San Francisco, where she has gotten comprehensive training in abortion care.

“I knew as a trainee that’s what I needed,” said Peacock, who plans to return to her home state after her residency.

Ever since the Supreme Court decision, California has worked to become a sanctuary for people from states where abortion is restricted. In doing so, it joins 14 other states, including Colorado, New Mexico, and Massachusetts. Now, it’s addressing the fraught issue of abortion training for medical residents, which most doctors believe is crucial to comprehensive OB-GYN training.

A law enacted in September [2023] makes it easier for out-of-state trainees to get up to 90 days of in-person training under the supervision of a California-licensed doctor. The law eliminated the requirement for a training license and also permitted training at programs such as Planned Parenthood that are affiliated with accredited medical schools.

“By allowing physician residents to come to California, where there are more opportunities for abortion training, and by allowing them to be reimbursed for this work, we’re sending a message that abortion care is health care and an essential part of physician training,” said Lisa Folberg, CEO of the California Academy of Family Physicians, which supported the bill.

The question of how to provide complete OB-GYN training promises to become more urgent as the effects of abortion bans on medical education becomes clear: 18 states restrict or ban abortion to the point of effectively stripping 20% of OB-GYN medical residents of the opportunity to get abortion training, according to the Ryan Residency Training Program in Abortion and Family Planning. That’s 1,354 residents this year out of 5,962 OB-GYN residents nationwide.

The restrictions in some cases aim to reach beyond state borders, spooking medical students and residents who fear hostility from anti-abortion groups and right-wing legislators...

Pamela Merritt, executive director of Medical Students for Choice, pointed to a Kansas law that requires repayment of state medical school scholarships — with 15% interest — if residents perform abortions or work in clinics that perform them, except in cases of rape, incest, or a medical emergency.

Doctors point out that abortion training is not just about ending pregnancies. Peacock recalled a patient who started hemorrhaging badly shortly after a healthy delivery. Peacock and her team at UCSF performed a dilation and curettage — a procedure commonly used to terminate pregnancy.

“If we did not have that skill set, and the patient continued to bleed, it could have been life-taking,” said Peacock, chief OB-GYN resident at UCSF...

Peacock, for her part, is adamant about returning to Georgia, where abortions are banned after six weeks. “I’m still going to provide abortions, whether that’s in Georgia or I need to fly to a different state and work in abortion clinics for a week out of the month,” she said. “It would definitely be a big part of my work.”"

-via The 19th, January 2, 2024

[simply-ivanka]

Vice President Candidate Tim Walz - Some of his Issues Before The Voters

• The Floyd riots. Walz managed to infuriate mainstream voters when he initially refused to quell the riots and arson that followed George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, only to enrage activists later when he called in the National Guard. Violent crime continues to plague the state.

Walz also signed a 2023 bill giving felons the right to vote except while they are incarcerated.

• Covid: Minnesota was a proud lockdown state; Walz enforced closures, restrictions and curfews, as well as a mask mandate, for more than a year. Police arrested a business owner who defied restrictions, while Walz set up a hotline that allowed residents to tattle on others who weren’t following his rules (Walz said the snitching was for people’s “own good.”)

• Spendalooza: Minnesota is racing to become the California of the Midwest, via a spending blowout that has ballooned government and depleted coffers. Walz hiked taxes, blew through a $18 billion surplus, and is on track for a $2.3 billion deficit. The money was thrown at a bevy of progressive priorities, including public education, “free college,” paid family and medical leave, and expanded government health care.

• Green New Deal: Walz tied his state’s vehicle emission standards to California regulations, among the strictest in the nation. And he signed a bill requiring state electric utilities to be 100% carbon free by 2040—an insane, and costly, fantasy.

• Culturally weird:  Walz gave his party a laugh when he declared Republicans “weird,” though it’s Minnesota that’s rapidly moved away from cultural norms under his tenure. He signed a law making the state a “sanctuary” for minors seeking transgender hormone treatment and surgery; another one mandating the dispensing of tampons in school boys’ bathrooms; and a law that declares an “individual” right to an abortion with no time limit or requirement that minors notify their parents.

Dept. of Conventional Wisdom: Walz has a jovial Midwestern style, and is often found chatting about his love of hunting or coaching while sporting a Carhartt jacket and baseball cap. Democrats intend to present him as their bridge to working-class voters and argue he’s capable of presenting progressive policy as practical and positive for most Americans. Think Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman or Montana Sen. Jon Tester. Yet Minnesota has little to show for its massive spending and liberal governance: Crime is up; education proficiency rates are down; capital and residents are leaving; inflation remains high; and job numbers are ticking down. Minnesota’s tax rates—individual, corporate and estate—are now among highest in the nation. Walz didn’t fare well with working-class voters in his gubernatorial elections. And his policy history magnifies the perception of a far-left ticket.

The real error may be lost opportunity. Vice-presidential candidates don’t usually make-or-break a ticket, but with another potential razor-thin presidential race in November—one that may very well run straight through Pennsylvania—Harris’s decision to walk away from a popular Keystone governor was risky.

[midwesttranssurvivalcollective]

midwest states & access to trans care

Illinois: Illinois is a sanctuary state for gender-affirming care, meaning they allow individuals coming from out of state to access gender-affirming care in Illinois regardless of the laws of their home state and will not enforce bans or penalties from other states. In 2023, Illinois passed a law safeguarding abortion and gender-affirming care, protecting providers who provide gender-affirming care, and protecting out-of-state care-seekers. In Illinois, there are no legal restrictions on hormone access for adults. At Planned Parenthood, anyone older than 16 can access hormone treatment without requiring parental consent. People under 16 can access hormones or puberty blockers with parental consent. Insurance providers are not allowed to exclude coverage for trans-related medical care, and Medicaid in Illinois covers trans health care. In Illinois, it is relatively easy to undergo the name change and gender marker change process, only requiring proof of residence for at least 6 months in Illinois. Anyone who has lived in Illinois for at least 6 months can change their legal documents regardless of the state they were born in.

Wisconsin: Wisconsin is not a sanctuary state for gender-affirming care, but right now, there are no state laws prohibiting adults or minors from accessing gender-affirming care. Currently, insurance providers and Medicaid cover trans health care. Wisconsin does not have as many legal protections as Illinois, so there is more of a chance for restrictions on a state level to occur under Trump. Wisconsin also requires proof of sex reassignment surgery to change gender markers. 

Iowa: In Iowa, there are legal restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors (passed in 2023), as well as laws preventing trans students from participating in sports or using bathrooms consistent with their gender identity. There is also no law requiring insurance providers to cover trans healthcare. Currently, trans healthcare is covered by Medicaid, but this may change under Trump. Iowa also requires proof of sex reassignment surgery for gender marker change.

Missouri: In Missouri, there is a ban on gender-affirming care for minors (passed in 2023), and a law restrictring access to gender-affirming care for adults on Medicaid. There is also a ban on trans students participating in sports consistent with their gender identity. However, Kansas City, Missouri, has declared itself a sanctuary city for gender-affirming care, meaning the city will not prosecute any person or organization that helps provide or receive gender-affirming care. Missouri also requires proof of sex reassignment surgery for gender marker change.

Kentucky: In Kentucky, there is a ban on gender-affirming care for minors (passed in 2023), and a law restricting access to gender-affirming care for adults on Medicaid. There are also laws preventing trans students from participating in sports or using bathrooms consistent with their gender identity. Kentucky also requires proof of sex reassignment surgery for gender marker change.

Indiana: In Indiana, there is a ban on gender-affirming care for minors (passed in 2023). There is no law restricting access to gender-affirming care for adults on Medicaid, but there are also no legal protections, meaning it's possible there will be a restriction put in place under Trump. Policies around gender marker changes are also unclear. There is also a ban on trans students participating in sports consistent with their gender identity.

Ohio: In Ohio, there is a ban on gender-affirming care for minors (passed in 2023), and a law restricting access to gender-affirming care for adults on Medicaid. There is also a ban on trans students participating in sports consistent with their gender identity. Ohio is unclear about requirements for changes to gender markers. 

Michigan: In Michigan, there no ban on gender-affirming care, and state Medicaid policy explicitly covers gender-affirming care. It is possible to change gender markers and names on legal documents without proof of sex reassignment surgery.

Minnesota: In Minnesota, there are no legal restrictions on hormone access, and Minnesota is a state with ‘shield’ laws actively protecting access to trans healthcare. In 2023, Minnesota passed a bill that prevents state courts or officials from complying with child removal requests, extraditions, arrests or subpoenas related to gender-affirming health care that a person receives in Minnesota, regardless of the laws in the person’s home state. Insurance providers are not allowed to exclude coverage for trans-related medical care, and Medicaid in Illinois covers trans health care. There is currently no ban on gender-affirming care for youth. Gender markers and names on birth certificates can be changed without proof of sex reassignment surgery.

more info or important additions for any of these states?? message us!!

most info from Movement Advancement Project (https://www.mapresearch.org/equality-maps/healthcare/trans_shield_laws) so if your state isn’t on here, check them out to find out your state’s status!

[yourtoradorasextendedwarranty]

I don't understand people sometimes. I was scrolling through a little earlier and saw someone call Trump a fascist which isn't uncommon but it wasn't from someone I'd have expected to it come from. But nothing about Trump is fascist. Sure he's nationalistic but fascistic and nationalistic are not the same.

What's more when it comes to Dems v Reps I don't see how anyone can vote for Dems especially when they've gone full Neo Progressive. What do I mean? Well let's look at the most general of what the parties have represented across the US.

The right has been pro border security and this has been exemplified by Rep states either reinforcing their own borders, or sending them to sanctuary states.

The right has been historically and still is anti abortion. And while I didn't personally fully after with the stance, it SHOULD be left to the states to decide.

The right are for protecting the second amendment and even IF not all politicians on the right are for it, the SCOTUS justices that do understand the conservative values of the Constitution have given us more freedoms back. Many red states in fact now have constitutional carry.

Also of note those same justices have removed the Chevron act. Meaning that 3 letter agreements etc can't just wildly interpret the law as they please.

Now having said all this yes, there are war hawks on the right. There are racists on the right there are sexists on the right. But those same people very much exist on the left with no shortage at all

The left supports full term abortion and doesn't even consider the child alive until it's outside the womb.

The left is STAUNCHLY anti gun and anti second amendment.

The left is staunchly anti first amendment as seen by their calls to "hate speech".

The left is mostly pro open borders

The left is and has been pro war for a long time. Need proof? Obama started almost 5 new wars.

The left has proven recently they are ABSOLUTELY above the law and will manipulate every word in existence to jail their political rivals.

The left is actively racist and actively promotes white supremacist ideology with stuff like affirmative action and DEI.

The left has gone out of their way to allow kids to transition and get surgeries before the age of 16 even and want kids introduced to and TAUGHT LGBT themes, and have pushed for graphic pornographic books to be in elementary schools.

Leftists states and federally have demanded higher taxes, reduced potentialities for crimes, have sold you out to China, and aim to replace you with illegals they can buy off.

Is this a commentary on ALL of the Left and Dems and ALL of the Right and Reps? No. There's good and bad on both sides. But if we look at policies pushed, and the media apparatus who's been lying non-stop for years who are very clearly leaving left we see the real pattern of behavior. And it bothers me. I'm a left of center, small l, libertarian. You'd think the Dems world actually be "my side" and yet, they aren't. Biden insists on being a tyrant and ignoring SCOTUS ruling WAY outside of his power, trying to forgive loans that he doesn't have the right to forgive since it comes out of the taxpayers dime. And what bothers me even more, is the fact that he has also repealed all of the legislation that Trump pushed forward that kept our border safe. Specifically remain in Mexico. Which was very reasonable legislation.

Looking at all of this objectively no sane person can go with Biden or the Democrats. And as far as I am concerned, if at this point you are on the side of the Democrats then you're in favor of anarcho tyranny. You're in favor of lawlessness. And your favor of being manipulated by the media Non-Stop and watching the dollar crater in value.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Erin Reed at Erin In The Morning:

On Tuesday, Gov. Janet Mills of Maine signed LD 227, a sanctuary bill that protects transgender and abortion providers and patients from out-of-state prosecution, into law. With this action, Maine becomes the 16th state to explicitly protect transgender and abortion care in state law from prosecution. This follows several bomb threats targeting state legislators after social media attacks from far-right anti-trans influencers such as Riley Gaines and Chaya Raichik of Libs of TikTok. An earlier version of the bill failed in committee after similar attacks in January. Undeterred, Democrats reconvened and added additional protections to the bill before it was passed into law.

The law is extensive. It asserts that gender-affirming care and reproductive health care are "legal rights" in Maine. It states that criminal and civil actions against providers and patients are not enforceable if the provision or access to that care occurred within Maine’s borders, asserting jurisdiction over those matters. It bars cooperation with out-of-state subpoenas and arrest warrants for gender-affirming care and abortion that happen within the state. It even protects doctors who provide gender-affirming care and abortion from certain adverse actions by medical boards, malpractice insurance, and other regulating entities, shielding those providers from attempts to economically harm them through out-of-state legislation designed to dissuade them from providing care.

The bill also explicitly enshrines the World Professional Association of Transgender Health’s Standards of Care, which have been the target of right-wing disinformation campaigns, into state law for the coverage of transgender healthcare.

The bill is said to be necessary due to attempts to prosecute doctors and seek information from patients across state lines. In recent months, attorneys general in other states have attempted to obtain health care data on transgender patients who traveled to obtain care. According to the United States Senate Finance Committee, attorneys general in Tennessee, Indiana, Missouri, and Texas attempted to obtain detailed medical records "to terrorize transgender teens in their states… opening the door to criminalizing women’s private reproductive health care choices." The most blatant of these attempts was from the Attorney General of Texas, who, according to the Senate Finance Committee, "sent demands to at least two non-Texas entities." 

[...] Despite these threats, legislators strengthened both the abortion and gender-affirming care provisions and pressed forward, passing the bill into law. Provisions found in the new bill include protecting people who "aid and assist" gender-affirming care and abortion, protections against court orders from other states for care obtained in Maine, and even protections against adverse actions by health insurance and malpractice insurance providers, which have been recent targets of out-of-state legislation aimed at financially discouraging doctors from providing gender-affirming care and abortion care even in states where it is legal.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) signs gender-affirming care and abortion sanctuary state bill LD227 into law despite the best efforts of right-wing anti-trans extremists such as Riley Gaines, Courage Is A Habit, and Libs of TikTok who sought to thwart its passage and signature into law.

[thebiscuiteternal]

[pixeljade]

I also want folks to know that i come from a consistently blue state, california. Out here in a former-swing-state-turned-red-state, i think a lot of people see democrats as useless, because the ones they get are 1) milder than the consistent blue state dems and 2) usually spending their tenure doing damage control instead of progressing things. Same thing happens at the federal level constantly.

But lemme tell ya, in California? I'm trans and my boobs are 100% taxpayer-funded. You heard that right, they have basically-socialized-medicine in the form of Medi-Cal (free healthcare for qualifying poor folks) and it fucks, and theyre planning on making it more officially socialized! They are also a sanctuary state for abortions, for immigrants, etc. Its far from perfect, people have definitely seen me complain about it here, but when the democrats have complete control consistently for years, and they no longer have to deal with Republican asshats throwing a molotov into the social structure every four to eight years, Democrats DO actually get shit done! And you might think "okay but did everyone get super inactive and satiated with such nice laws, and forget to tear down capitalism?" Nah, there's still a hefty leftist movement out there with some great folks! They just get to do it with better healthcare, better pay, a lot more general support than out here. So yeah. It DOES make a difference, and it DOES lead into the grand scheme of destroying capitalism

[doberbutts]

There's a post right now that I don't want to derail because it has good points but also I wanted to say something to correct it;

You can absolutely get testosterone by mail, depending on your exact state and insurance for how it handles controlled substances.

I have a three month supply being mailed to me as I type. Through my insurance, authorized by my doctor. It costs $40.

HOWEVER I live in a sanctuary state not just for transgender and gay stuff but also for immigrants and for people seeking abortions. The laws are as lax as the federal government will allow.

Someone living in a state seeking to ban medical transition if not just "being transgender" altogether probably isn't able to access this. For me, all I have to do is get my doctor to approve it and then either be present when it arrives at my door or tell them via my video doorbell that I authorize them to leave it in a safe place out of sight of the main road. I know this because I switched to doing things this way because it was not only significantly cheaper but also because then I didn't have to keep worrying about whether the physical pharmacy was out of atock of my T, again.

[satanfemme]

On Thursday, Maryland’s Senate Finance Committee heard Senate Bill 119, a bill that would make Maryland a sanctuary state for transgender individuals and providers fleeing other states. The bill would add gender-affirming care to a law passed last year that shields abortion patients and providers from out-of-state prosecution and investigations. Many more individuals testified in favor of the bill than against it, including Maryland state government officials who remarked on its necessity. If passed, the law would make Maryland the 12th state, not counting the District of Columbia, to do so.

[raz-b-rose]

Call to Prayer!

My city is holding a meeting on Tuesday at 3pm to discuss making our city a sanctuary city for abortion, ignoring my states current 15 week ban law and decimalizing the actions of anyone who helps in providing an abortion past that limit. 

The churches in my city have all come together to send emails to the council members as well as attend this meeting Tuesday (they tried to keep it quiet so we could no go in support of our most vulnerable as well as our women) to fight against this taking place. 

Prayers for these council members, that the Lord will move their hearts for life. Prayers for the ones pushing for this, that they will see the truth and that the Lord will move their hearts towards life. We are a collage town, so prayers for these young women being lied to about what abortion is, and that any who have already have one will find healing and love. Prayer that no matter what God’s will be done. Prayer for these women and children. Prayers for those who will be attending Tuesday, for love and a warriors spirit to consume them and for their safety. 

(and prayers for our pregnancy centers safety. We only have the one, and these women need the resources) 

[mariacallous]

On the campaign trail and in recent days, Donald Trump has detailed extensive plans for immigration crackdowns and mass deportations during his second term as United States president. These initiatives would, he has said, include aggressive operations in areas known as “sanctuary cities” that have laws specifically curtailing local law enforcement collaboration with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

With these promises looming, a new report from researchers at the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP), a pro-privacy nonprofit, details the ways that federal/local data-sharing centers known as “fusion centers” already result in cooperation between federal immigration authorities and sanctuary-city law enforcement.

Run by the US Department of Homeland Security, of which ICE is a part, fusion centers emerged in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks as a counterterrorism initiative for integrating intelligence between federal, state, and local law enforcement. Fusion centers spent $400 million in 2021, according to public records. And, as STOP researchers point out, in more than two decades the centers have never proven their worth for their stated purpose of addressing terrorism in the US. Unnamed DHS officials told a Senate panel in 2012, for example, that fusion centers produce “predominantly useless information” and “a bunch of crap.”

In addition to aggressive investigative tactics like pulling data from schools and abortion clinics, ICE agents have leaned on fusion centers for years to get everything from photos of suspects to license plate location data and more—often in a pipeline that includes input from law enforcement working in sanctuary cities.

“This is an area where it’s highly profitable for localities to cooperate with ICE, and because it’s not highly visible it oftentimes faces less pushback," says STOP executive director Albert Fox Cahn. “This sort of information sharing capacity on this scale across all these agencies. tapping into everything from local utility records and DMV records to school records has the potential to be deployed in any number of chilling scenarios.”

ICE did not immediately return a request from WIRED for comment.

Fox Cahn adds that the concept of sanctuary cities wasn't always viewed by regional cops as an inconvenience to work around. “Until recently a lot of law enforcement agencies were very vocal in supporting sanctuary city protections, because they feared that ICE collaboration would actually hurt public safety if immigrants were not willing to come forward when they were victims of a crime or witness to a crime,” he says. “But police have become much more politically engaged on immigration in recent years.”

Fusion centers give ICE officers a forum through which to request data from local law enforcement databases in sanctuary cities and take advantage of regional surveillance tools, including publicly deployed face recognition systems, that can't be directly used to aid deportation efforts under sanctuary laws. STOP argues that when cops from sanctuary cities share data with ICE through fusion centers, it believes they may be violating local laws, but the activity is less obviously a violation than if the sharing happened through a direct channel.

In addition to undermining the entire purpose and premise of sanctuary city laws, STOP researchers point out, such erosion of guardrails around data sharing broadly could easily become a national security issue if a foreign actor were to infiltrate a fusion center. And domestically, the free-wheeling environment within fusion centers means that law enforcement could easily turn the spotlight onto additional types of investigations without warning.

“What we’ve seen over and over again is that the policing infrastructure we’ve built up in the name of combatting one evil then gets re-purposed for another," Fox Cahn says. “People who maybe don’t care as much about immigration need to recognize that if this infrastructure can be re-targeted at undocumented communities the way it has been today, it can be repurposed for any number of policing priorities in the future.”

Fusion centers will almost certainly play a role in the Trump administration's immigration agenda, but the STOP research is a reminder that these information-sharing hubs may well be at the center of other far-flung law enforcement initiatives as well.