‘ Sanctuary cities’ punishment limited

Federal judge rules president exceeded authority in order

A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday partially blocked President Trump’s attempts to punish “sanctuary cities” that do not fully comply with federal immigration enforcement efforts by withholding federal grant money.

U. S. District Judge William Orrick ruled that Trump exceeded his presidential authority when he signed an executive order Jan. 25 directing his administration to withhold all federal funding from local jurisdictions deemed to be “sanctuary” jurisdictions. That general term describes more than 300 local governments that have limited their cooperation with federal immigration officials.

Orrick ruled that a president has the power to withhold some funding, including three Justice Department grants tied to law enforcement. He ruled the administration can withhold funding under those grounds.

But Orrick ruled that Trump’s threats to withhold all federal grants were “coercive” and violated several fundamental principles in the Constitution.

“The Constitution vests the spending powers in Congress, not the President, so the Order cannot constitutionally place new conditions on federal funds,” Orrick wrote.

The ruling marks the latest courtroom defeat for Trump in his quest to limit legal and illegal immigration into the country. Federal judges twice blocked the president’s attempts to temporarily suspend legal immigration from majority- Muslim countries, and Tuesday’s ruling limits his ability to punish cities that don’t fully comply with his efforts to halt illegal immigration.

The lawsuit was filed by government officials in San Francis- co and Santa Clara who said local governments were facing billions of dollars in lost revenue because of Trump’s order. They argued in court that the executive order was overly broad, included vague threats and never defined what the administration considers to be a “sanctuary” jurisdiction.

San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee applauded the ruling, and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said it will allow local governments to fight back against the “executive overreach” of the Trump administration.

“Today’s decision is a historic affirmation of the U. S. Constitution’s core principles — that the President cannot usurp powers not given to him, and that the federal government cannot use federal defunding to coerce local governments into becoming federal immigration enforcers,” Santa Clara County counsel James Williams said.

Justice Department lawyers argued that cities, counties and states must comply with a section of federal law that requires local jurisdictions to share immigration information on people in custody with the federal government. A violation, they argued, would bar the local entities from receiving three Justice Department grants and nothing more.

Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior said Tuesday that the judge “upheld” the government’s ability to withhold some federal funding against sanctuary cities. He did not say whether Justice will appeal the ruling.

Orrick issued a preliminary injunction to rein in the scope of the order that will stay in place if the Justice Department appeals. The department can continue working to cut off some grants.

“Today’s decision is a historic affirmation of the U. S. Constitution’s core principles.” James Williams, counsel for Santa Clara County