The American Immigration Council has published a new playbook that tracks how state and local governments are responding to heightened federal immigration enforcement in the United States. The resource arrives as communities across the country face sharper pressure to align — or openly refuse to align — with federal immigration priorities.

The playbook is designed as a practical guide. It catalogues the range of actions available to, and taken by, state and local governments when federal enforcement intensifies. That range spans two opposing directions: jurisdictions that cooperate fully with federal agencies, and jurisdictions that limit their involvement through so-called sanctuary-style policies.

What does the playbook do?

The American Immigration Council built the resource to give officials, advocates, journalists and researchers a single reference point for a fast-moving policy field. Instead of scattered news reports and piecemeal court filings, the playbook assembles the landscape of state and local responses into one organized document.

It covers the core question driving local immigration policy in the United States today: what can a city, county or state legally do when the federal government escalates enforcement? The playbook addresses that question by mapping the actual choices governments have made, rather than abstract legal theory.

Who is affected?

The audience for the material is broad by design:

• State legislators and governors weighing cooperation or resistance measures
• City and county officials, including sheriffs and police chiefs, deciding whether local resources support federal enforcement
• Advocacy organizations and legal service providers advising immigrant communities
• Researchers and journalists tracking divergence between federal and local policy

For foreign nationals living in the United States, and for readers abroad following US immigration policy, the playbook signals a structural shift: enforcement is no longer a single, uniform federal story. Where a person lives increasingly shapes how immigration rules touch daily life.

Why does this matter now?

Federal immigration enforcement has intensified, and state and local governments have responded in sharply different ways. Some jurisdictions have expanded cooperation with federal authorities. Others have adopted policies that restrict local participation in enforcement, arguing that public safety and community trust depend on it.

This divergence creates a patchwork of rules across the country. The same federal enforcement action can meet full cooperation in one county and formal non-participation in the next. The playbook's purpose is to make that patchwork legible.

Where can readers find it?

The playbook is available through the American Immigration Council, the organization that produced it. Readers seeking the full document, its updates and its detailed categorization of local responses should consult the Council's publication directly, as the resource is intended to track ongoing developments rather than offer a one-time snapshot.

The publication does not provide individual legal advice. Anyone facing an immigration enforcement action should consult a qualified immigration attorney or an accredited representative, and should rely on official federal, state and local government sources for the rules that apply in their jurisdiction.