SAN FRANCISCO — City officials in Minneapolis and St. Paul can join other cities around the country with a collective sigh of relief.
Late Tuesday, a San Francisco Judge ruled that the administration’s decision to revoke federal funding from cities designated as sanctuary cities was unconstitutional according to The Hill.
President Donald Trump famously signed an executive order in January removing federal funding from sanctuary cities, a promise he campaigned on.
“We will end the sanctuary cities that have resulted in so many needless deaths,” Trump said at a 2016 speech in Phoenix, according to Politifact, “Cities that refuse to cooperate with federal authorities will not receive taxpayer dollars, and we will work with Congress to pass legislation to protect those jurisdictions that do assist federal authorities.”
Judge William H. Orrick sided with San Francisco and Santa Clara County, which filed an injunction, questioning the constitutionality of Trump’s order.
Orrick, however did not block all aspects of the executive order. The Hill reports that the Justice Department under Attorney General Jeff Sessions would still have the ability to withhold grants from cities that do not respond to ICE waivers and continues to give Homeland Security the ability to define what sanctuary cities are.
As reported by Alpha News in March, Sessions announced the Justice Department would withhold grants from state and local governments that are declared sanctuary cities. A city official from Minneapolis told Alpha News at the time, the city received approximately $1 million in DOJ grants annually. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman has denied the moniker that his city is a sanctuary city stating, “the city of St. Paul does provide safe harbor for criminals.”
Trump’s initial order would have meant that Minneapolis and St. Paul would have potentially lost millions of dollars in federal aide.
Fox News notes that Orrick raised at least $200,000 for former President Barrack Obama’s two presidential campaigns. Orrick’s order will remain in place while the lawsuit makes its way through the judicial process.
Preya Samsundar
Preya Samsundar was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. She graduated from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities this Spring with a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology, with a minor in Strategic Communications. Preya has previously worked on several State Campaign Races.
