Santa Clara County, San Francisco and a national group of cities have asked a federal court to temporarily halt President Donald Trump’s plans to cut funding to immigration “sanctuaries” that limit the ability of local law enforcement officers to assist with deportations.
Attorneys representing the cities and counties filed a motion Monday evening in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The motion seeks an immediate stay on Trump’s plans to cut or freeze funding to sanctuary jurisdictions.
Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti and San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu argue in the motion that those plans “violate fundamental constitutional rights,” including the Tenth Amendment, “and run roughshod over bedrock principles of our democracy.”
Quickly after taking office, Trump signed an executive order declaring that sanctuary jurisdictions interfere with federal law enforcement operations to remove illegal immigrations.
He directed the U.S. Attorney General’s office and federal agencies to ensure that sanctuary jurisdictions “do not receive access to federal funds.” These plans to withhold funding are technically separate from his efforts to slash the size of the federal government with the assistance of billionaire Elon Musk.
The Trump administration has yet to actually cut off funding, LoPresti said.
“This is about us trying to get ahead of it and prevent it from occurring,” he said in an interview.
Santa Clara County officials have said that would be disastrous for the county’s ability to pay for health care, education, infrastructure and other essential services. According to LoPresti, the county receives about $3.6 billion a year from the federal government — about a third of its total budget.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Along with Santa Clara County, San Jose and San Francisco, 13 cities have signed onto the lawsuit, including Oakland. A hearing in the Northern District court is set for April 23, LoPresti said.
The end goal is for a judge to permanently freeze Trump’s plans, he added.
LoPresti and Chiu originally filed the legal challenge to Trump’s plans on Feb. 7.
The motion is the latest volley in a years-long bout between Trump and Democrat-led cities and counties over sanctuary policies.
While Trump and Republicans say these policies allow immigrants with serious criminal records to escape deportation, Santa Clara County and San Francisco contend that immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, and using local law enforcement for immigration erodes community trust and distracts from a focus on local issues.
During Trump’s first term, California passed a sanctuary law that prohibits local law enforcement statewide from assisting in immigration raids or handing over people booked into county jails to federal immigration authorities, among other restrictions.
Cities and counties across the Bay Area, including Alameda County, Oakland and Berkeley, also adopted or reaffirmed local sanctuary ordinances.
In 2017, during the first Trump administration, the federal government sought to freeze funding to sanctuary cities, but local governments, including Santa Clara County, successfully sued to stop the order. The case did not reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
Staff Writer Grace Hase contributed to this story.
