Judge halts action against sanctuary cities

A federal judge today blocked attempts by the Trump administration to withhold funding from “sanctuary cities” that do not cooperate with U.S. immigration authorities. U.S. District Judge William Orrick issued the preliminary injunction in lawsuits filed by the city of San Francisco and Santa Clara County. The judge said President Donald Trump could not set new conditions for the federal grants at stake. “Federal funding that bears no meaningful relationship to immigration enforcement cannot be threatened merely because a jurisdiction chooses an immigration enforcement strategy of which the president disapproves,” the judge said. The Trump administration argued the lawsuits were premature because the government hadn’t cut off any money yet nor declared any communities to be sanctuary cities.