Albuquerque –
On April 28th, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal funding from “sanctuary cities” that are not complying with the federal immigration agenda.
The executive order tasked U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Department of Homeland Security to identify cities and states that don’t comply with this order.
Currently, the City of Albuquerque is considered a sanctuary city by the Keller administration.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller released an emailed statement:
“We remember when Trump tried to extort immigrant-friendly cities like ours before, but threatening to defund the police is the exact opposite of what Albuquerque needs to be safe. Our communities are stronger when people of all backgrounds feel safe reporting crimes and working with police, and our officers will keep arresting anyone who breaks the law, regardless of their immigration status.”
We emailed back a few questions:
- Where will the city find funds to supplement the police department if APD is stripped of federal funding?
- What orders will the Mayor give to APD if ICE requests to check the immigration statuses of individuals arrested by APD?
We sent the e-mail questions yesterday on April 28th, 2025 and have not heard back at the time of this publication. It has long been the Mayor’s practice not to return our e-mails or inquiries. Our research shows there is a staff of at least four in the public affairs/press office with a staff budget paying them over $389,582 a year.
The City of Albuquerque receives federal funding through the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program, which is administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) under the Executive Office of the President. In 2023, the City of Albuquerque was awarded $609,282 under this particular Federal Grant. The City of Albuquerque received a new HITDA grant in January 2024, which runs through December 2025 for $622,865. It remains unknown if future award monies from HIDTA could be at jeopardy.
For fiscal year 2025, APD is presently set to be awarded a $633,240 grant from the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program. On Oct 01, 2024, the City of Albuquerque was awarded a new COPS grant for $6,250,000.00. This COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) grant runs through 2029. The COPS Hiring Program (CHP) provides funding to law enforcement agencies to hire and/or rehire additional career law enforcement officers in an effort to increase their community policing capacity and enhance crime prevention efforts. If found in non-compliance with the executive order, this money could now be in jeopardy.
We will update this story if the Mayor allows his highly paid staff to get back to us.
You can see the awards given to the City of Albuquerque by going to this website: https://www.usaspending.gov/recipient/e332d903-03b7-2586-4396-6c8bf3d39e58-R/latest