A federal judge in California ruled Friday that the Trump administration cannot withhold or condition federal funding for 34 cities and counties that have adopted “sanctuary” policies limiting cooperation with immigration enforcement.
U.S. District Judge William Orrick extended a preliminary injunction he had previously issued covering more than a dozen jurisdictions, this time broadening the protection to include dozens more localities across the country.
Orrick’s ruling also bars the administration from attaching immigration-related conditions to two separate grant programs that had been threatened.
Unconstitutional “Coercive Threat”
The Trump administration argued against an extension of the injunction, saying the first ruling was already under appeal and incorrect. But Orrick rejected that, writing that President Trump’s executive order — and “the executive actions that have parroted them” — amounted to a “coercive threat” that violated the Constitution.
“The administration may not condition the receipt of federal funds on compliance with immigration-enforcement demands that Congress has not authorized,” Orrick wrote.
Trump’s Executive Order
The dispute stems from a Trump executive order directing Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to ensure federal funds did not “abet so-called ‘sanctuary’ policies that seek to shield illegal aliens from deportation.”
Under Trump’s mass deportation plan, DHS published a list earlier this year of over 500 sanctuary jurisdictions it deemed noncompliant with federal immigration cooperation. The department later withdrew the list after acknowledging it mistakenly included some communities that actually supported the administration’s policies.
Local Governments Push Back
Numerous cities and counties sued the federal government, arguing that billions of dollars in critical funding for local programs were at stake. The Justice Department also filed its own lawsuits against major cities including New York and Los Angeles, seeking to force compliance.
Orrick’s latest ruling blocks the administration from using funding as leverage while the litigation continues, striking another blow against efforts to penalize sanctuary jurisdictions.
