Commissioner Ali summarizes audit findings on federal activity
Commissioner Ali says the May audit found local laws generally working as intended while identifying areas for improvement. She highlights increased federal activity at shelters, more detainer requests, expanded federal agencies involved, and aggressive tactics.
In May, the City published a report of audit findings and recommendations.
The findings confirmed that overall, our local laws are working as intended, while also identifying areas where we can strengthen policies both citywide and within individual agencies.
Throughout this process,
We have emphasized the importance of ongoing accountability and review, as well as broadening reporting to ensure that our local laws continue to be implemented effectively as federal activity in our city and nationwide evolves.
The audit found a dramatic increase in federal immigration-related activity targeting city shelters between January and August 2025.
It also revealed a significant uptick in civil immigration detainer requests to city law enforcement agencies, an expanded set of
federal agencies involved in civil immigration enforcement, and increasingly aggressive and misleading tactics by immigration authorities.