A memo asserts that state and local officials are bound to cooperate and could face criminal prosecution or civil penalties if they fail to comply.

Washington — The Justice Department has ordered federal prosecutors to investigate state or local officials who they believe are interfering with the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, saying they could face criminal charges, in an apparent warning to the dozens of so-called sanctuary jurisdictions across America.

In a new memo, a Justice Department official seeks to realign the department's positions on immigration with President Trump's executive actions — and threatens local officials who don't cooperate.

In his third day in office, President Donald Trump signed more executive orders aimed at shutting down the U.S. southern border to immigration and ramping up deportations — though large scale deportation raids had yet to materialize as of Wednesday afternoon.