A federal judge in California ordered the Trump administration to halt any efforts to withhold funds from cities and counties deemed so-called sanctuary jurisdictions for refusing to cooperate with U.S. immigration officials.
Judge William H. Orrick of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California barred the U.S. government on Thursday from “directly or indirectly taking any action to withhold, freeze, or condition federal funds” to San Francisco city and county, Santa Clara and 14 other cities and counties around the country that are part of the legal challenge to the policy.
Orrick, an Obama appointee, issued an order granting a preliminary injunction against a portion of President Donald Trump’s executive order that declared the influx of migrants who came across the U.S.-Mexico border an “invasion,” which included a provision threatening to cut off federal funds for jurisdictions if they don’t cooperate with federal immigration officials.
Orrick ruled the executive order as it pertains to sanctuary jurisdictions and a subsequent memo from Attorney General Pamela Bondi were unlawful on several constitutional fronts, including separation of powers, the Spending Clause, and Fifth and Tenth amendment claims.
The judge also asserted the Bondi memo was likely unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act because the directive was “arbitrary and capricious.”
The lawsuit was filed in February by the cities and counties that have sanctuary policies, such as practices of refusing to honor civil immigration detainer requests for undocumented immigrants held by local law enforcement.
Legal experts have said the Trump administration would be unlikely to prevail in its efforts to strip sanctuary cities of federal funds because of legal precedent asserting localities aren’t required to participate in federal programs.
In fact, Orrick at the start of the ruling took note of the fact that he was same judge who had ruled against another version of Trump’s policies against sanctuary cities in 2017. That case was appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit of Court of Appeals, which issued a decision against the first Trump administration’s policy.
Orrick wrote the case “is on all fours” the same as litigation against the first Trump administration’s policy against sanctuary cities, asserting a change in language in the two directives is “a distinction without a difference.”
“Here we are again,” Orrick wrote.
The executive order is part of a broader push from Republicans against sanctuary jurisdictions. The Justice Department has filed two lawsuits against states and cities known for sanctuary city policies, one filed against New York and its localities and the other against Illinois and its localities.
The litigation seeks a declaration that the polices of these jurisdictions violate the primacy of the federal government in policymaking. Both cases are currently pending before trial court.
The House at the start of the 119th Congress included a measure to penalize sanctuary cities as part of its rules package, setting up a potential floor vote on legislation to cut off federal funds for municipalities if they intend to use that money for the benefit of undocumented immigrants. The legislation has yet to come for a vote this year.
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