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A federal judge late Friday ruled the Trump administration cannot withhold federal funding from Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and more than 30 other cities and counties over their policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
U.S. District Judge William Orrick, sitting in San Francisco, extended a preliminary injunction that prevents the administration from conditioning or cutting off funds to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions. His earlier order had already protected more than a dozen other cities, including San Francisco, Portland and Seattle.
In his decision, Orrick said the administration offered no substantive opposition to expanding the injunction beyond arguing that his initial order was incorrect. The government has appealed that first ruling. Orrick also barred the Justice Department from imposing immigration-related conditions on two specific grant programs.
The ruling is the latest blow to President Donald Trump’s push to pressure sanctuary cities, part of a broader effort to fulfill his campaign promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. One executive order signed by Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to block federal funds from sanctuary jurisdictions. Another ordered all federal agencies to ensure that payments to state and local governments do not “abet” policies shielding undocumented immigrants from deportation.
Orrick, an Obama appointee, called the orders an unconstitutional “coercive threat.” Cities and counties argued that billions of dollars in federal funding were at stake.
In May, the Department of Homeland Security published a list of more than 500 sanctuary jurisdictions it deemed noncompliant, warning they would be formally notified of possible violations. That list was later removed after critics noted it included localities that had actively cooperated with federal immigration authorities.
The Justice Department has also pursued separate lawsuits against New York, Los Angeles and other cities over their sanctuary policies.
There is no formal legal definition of a “sanctuary city,” but the term generally refers to jurisdictions that limit cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. While ICE enforces federal immigration laws nationwide, it relies on state and local governments to identify and hold individuals for deportation.
