Judge will reconsider ruling on sanctuary cities order

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge Tuesday agreed to reconsider his ruling blocking President Donald Trump’s executive order to cut funding from cities that limit cooperation with U.S. immigration authorities.

U.S. District Judge William Orrick accepted the administration’s request to reconsider his April ruling. He gave the two California counties that challenged the executive order — San Francisco and Santa Clara — two weeks to file any documents opposing the request.

The administration was facing a Tuesday deadline to file paperwork to seek a second review by Orrick.

The Trump administration sought reconsideration in light of a new memo by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The memo issued Monday reasserts the department’s position that Trump’s executive order applies to a relatively small amount of money administered by the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Homeland Security that require localities to comply with a specific immigration law related to informationsharing among police and federal immigration authorities.

The Trump administration said the memo is “binding guidance” that undercuts Orrick’s preliminary injunction. Santa Clara and San Francisco argued that Orrick had already considered the arguments in the memo in his ruling.