A court ruling from the 2nd US Court of Appeals has overturned an earlier ruling that prevented the Trump Administration from withholding money from “sanctuary cities.”
This means that the Trump Administration can legally withhold federal funds from cities that don’t cooperate with federal immigration efforts.
“Sanctuary cities,” as they are known, are cities that will offer “sanctuary” to immigrants. To do this, they refuse to cooperate with what they view as federal overreach in attempts to deport immigrants.
The Trump Administration has constantly chafed against the cities who don’t cooperate with their deportation efforts. They have gone so far as to bar New York residents from joining into some “Trusted Traveler” programs.
A three-judge panel unanimously voted in favor of the Trump Administration withholding federal funds from the “sanctuary cities.”
The judges wrote,
“The case implicates several of the most divisive issues confronting our country and, consequently, filling daily news headlines: national immigration policy, the enforcement of immigration laws, the status of illegal aliens in this country, and the ability of States and localities to adopt policies on such matters contrary to, or at odds with, those of the federal government.”
The case stems from a 2017 announcement by then-attorney general Jeff Sessions. He stated that the government would withhold funds from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants. The government would not give these funds to cities that didn’t cooperate fully with federal effort to deport immigrants.
The case has been one of the nation’s most high-profile lawsuits. Lawyers have been fighting tooth and nail on both sides of the argument, which has cut deep through American politics.
Following the controversial ruling on Wednesday, the Justice Department took a moment to gloat over their victory. They also seemed wary that cities would continue to find ways to oppose them.
They warned of the possibility that sanctuary cities will use rulings from other court cases as precedent to keep local police from cooperating with federal agents.
“While today’s ruling is a major victory for Americans, its full scope will not be realized until the practices of granting nationwide injunctions and associational injunctions are stopped,” the Justice Department stated, “as certain cities that are parties to this judgment may nonetheless use rulings from other courts to evade these lawful conditions.”
Many critics have noted how unusual it is that a Republican president is doing this. Spearheading efforts to strip rights from cities and further empower the federal government seems out of step with party beliefs. For generations, Republicans have run on a platform of keeping government small and keeping the federal government from interfering in local affairs, though the Trump administration has taken a distinctly pro-federal stance since 2017.
