By Prime Path Immigration Law Firm Limited USA, on Immigration Updates
A federal judge ruled late Friday that 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. The judge found that the Trump administration's executive orders directing the withholding of federal money from sanctuary jurisdictions constituted an unconstitutional "coercive threat."
The ruling comes as the Trump administration has intensified pressure on sanctuary communities to fulfill the president's campaign promise to remove millions of people in the country illegally. Two executive orders direct Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to withhold federal money from sanctuary jurisdictions and require all federal agencies to ensure payments don't support policies that shield immigrants from deportation. The cities and counties that sued argued that billions of dollars were at stake, while the Justice Department has also pursued separate lawsuits against New York, Los Angeles and other cities over their sanctuary policies.
For more information on this, and other immigration matters, contact the attorneys at Prime Path Immigration Law Firm Limited USA today.
Reference:
Vanessa Romo, Judge blocks Trump from cutting funding over 'sanctuary' policies, NPR (Aug. 23, 2025), https://www.npr.org/2025/08/23/g-s1-84863/judge-blocks-trump-from-cutting-funding-sanctuary-cities.
