Federal Judge Blocks Trump Executive Order to Defund Sanctuary Cities
Last week, San Francisco based U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick imposed a nationwide injunction against Section 9(a) of Trump’s Executive Order on Interior Enforcement, which threatened to defund sanctuary cities that “willfully refuse to comply” with Section 1373, a provision in federal immigration law that prohibits local jurisdictions from refusing to provide information regarding citizenship or immigration status to federal agents.
Judge Orrick reasoned Section 9(a)’s broad language along with the new restrictions go beyond what was authorized by federal law. Specifically, he stated that “the order’s attempt to place new conditions on federal funds is an improper attempt to wield Congress’s exclusive spending power and is a violation of the Constitution’s separation-of-powers principles.”
The White House responded to the decision with the following statement: “This case is yet one more example of egregious overreach by a single, unelected district judge.” Last week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions pledged the Justice Department would continue to litigate the case.