Court Halts Trump Administration’s Plan to Withhold Funds from 34 ‘Sanctuary’ Cities and Counties

SAN FRANCISCO — A judge ruled late Friday the Trump administration cannot deny funding to Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and 30 other cities and counties because of policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration efforts.

U.S. District Judge William Orrick in San Francisco extended a preliminary injunction blocking the administration from cutting off or conditioning the use of federal funds for so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions. His earlier order protected more than a dozen other cities and counties, including San Francisco, Portland and Seattle.

The Trump administration has ratcheted up pressure on those communities as it seeks to make good on President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to remove millions of people in the country illegally.

One executive order issued by Trump directs Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to withhold federal money from sanctuary jurisdictions. Another order directs every federal agency to ensure that payments to state and local governments do not “abet so-called ‘sanctuary’ policies that seek to shield illegal aliens from deportation.”

The cities and counties that sued said billions of dollars were at risk.

An email to the White House late Friday was not immediately returned.

In May, the Department of Homeland Security published a list of more than 500 “sanctuary jurisdictions,” saying each one would receive formal notification that the government had deemed them noncompliant. It also said it would inform them if they were believed to be in violation of any federal criminal statutes.

The list was later removed from the department’s website after critics noted it included localities that have actively supported the administration’s tough immigration policies.

The Justice Department has sued New York, Los Angeles and other cities over their sanctuary policies.

There is no strict definition for sanctuary cities, but the terms generally describes places that limit cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE enforces immigration laws nationwide but seeks help from state and local authorities to identify immigrants wanted for deportation and hold them for federal officers.