Judge Bars Trump Administration from Cutting Federal Funds to Sanctuary Cities

A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration cannot withhold funding from Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and more than 30 other cities and counties over their “sanctuary” policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

U.S. District Judge William Orrick in San Francisco late Friday extended an earlier injunction that already protected cities such as San Francisco, Portland and Seattle. Orrick also blocked the administration from imposing immigration-related conditions on two federal grant programs.

The administration, which has appealed Orrick’s first order, argued only that the original injunction was wrong. In his ruling, Orrick said the White House had offered no new legal justification and that the executive orders threatening to strip funds amounted to an unconstitutional “coercive threat.”

Trump has sought to ramp up pressure on sanctuary jurisdictions as part of his campaign pledge to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. One executive order directed the attorney general and homeland security secretary to withhold federal money from noncompliant jurisdictions, while another required agencies to ensure federal payments did not support sanctuary policies.

Cities and counties challenging the orders said billions of dollars were at risk. The Department of Homeland Security had previously published—and later retracted—a list of more than 500 sanctuary jurisdictions, drawing criticism for including communities that had actively supported the administration’s enforcement efforts.

The Justice Department has also filed lawsuits against New York, Los Angeles and others over their sanctuary policies. While the term “sanctuary city” has no precise legal definition, it generally refers to localities that limit cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.