Sanctuary cities explainer: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Photos and Videos

A classic wooden San Francisco cable car tram travels along tracks in a sunny downtown intersection, with historic buildings and a large tree in the background.

Residents and protesters clashing with United States Border Patrol agents, Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino (third from left and facing the camera), and other federal agents on October 22, 2025, in Cicero, Illinois

People seated in a meeting room hold blue signs reading sanctuary and orange signs reading Los Angeles sanctuary city now, showing support for immigrants at Los Angeles City Hall.

Two Border Patrol agents stand near a group of migrants, mostly women and children, seated on a dirt road beside patrol vehicles in a rural area near McAllen, Texas.

At night, immigrant families with children climb from an inflatable raft onto the muddy bank of the Rio Grande after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in Roma, Texas.

A row of shirtless, tattooed men with shaved heads stand closely pressed against a wall, heads bowed, at the Terrorist Confinement Centre prison in El Salvador.

Brandon Johnson, Mayor of Chicago, wearing a suit and glasses, speaks into a microphone during a hearing at the U.S. Capitol.

The Science of Fingerprints

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

city sanctuary city immigration Immigration Drones Cuba embargo DACA & the DREAM Act Israel-Palestine conflict explainer World Trade Center Muslim center U.S. Drone shot down by Iran U.S.-Iraq War Cuba certified as a “not fully cooperating country” by United States DOJ sues New York over immigrant driver’s licenses