Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

2 days ago

‘Freedom Week’: California Gun Owners Rush to Buy Ammo After Court Ruling

3 days ago

Wall Street Selloff Sparked by Trump Tariffs, Amazon Results, Weak Payrolls

3 days ago

US Construction Spending Extends Decline in June

3 days ago

Global Shares in Red After US Jobs Data, Trump’s Tariff Salvo

3 days ago

Construction of $200M Trump Ballroom at the White House to Begin in September

3 days ago

US Senate Committee Backs $1 Billion for Ukraine in Pentagon Spending Bill

3 days ago

Trump Says Mexico Trade Deal Extended for 90 Days

3 days ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

4 days ago
Court Strikes Down Trump Push To Cut 'Sanctuary City' Funds
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 7 years ago on
August 2, 2018

Share

SAN FRANCISCO — A divided U.S. appeals court on Wednesday struck down a key part of President Donald Trump’s contentious effort to crack down on cities and states that limit cooperation with immigration officials, saying an executive order threatening to cut funding for “sanctuary cities” was unconstitutional.
In a 2-1 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court that the order exceeded the president’s authority. Congress alone controls spending under the U.S. Constitution, and presidents do not have the power to withhold funding it approves to pursue their policy goals, the court majority said.
“By its plain terms, the executive order directs the agencies of the executive branch to withhold funds appropriated by Congress in order to further the administration’s policy objective of punishing cities and counties that adopt so-called ‘sanctuary’ policies,” wrote Chief Judge Sidney Thomas, joined by Judge Ronald Gould, who both were nominated by Democratic President Bill Clinton.
The court, however, also said the lower-court judge went too far when he blocked enforcement of Trump’s order nationwide after a lawsuit by two California counties — San Francisco and Santa Clara.
Thomas said there wasn’t enough evidence to support a nationwide ban, limited the injunction to California and sent the case back to the lower court for more arguments on whether a wider ban was warranted.

A “Victory for Criminal Aliens”

“The Justice Department remains committed to the rule of law, to protecting public safety, and to keeping criminal aliens off the streets.”Devin O’Malley, spokesman for the U.S. Justice Department
Devin O’Malley, a spokesman for the U.S. Justice Department, called the ruling a victory for “criminal aliens in California, who can continue to commit crimes knowing that the state’s leadership will protect them from federal immigration officers whose job it is to hold them accountable and remove them from the country.”
The decision overall is a big win for opponents of the executive order, but Trump could try to enforce it against jurisdictions outside the nine Western states covered by the 9th Circuit, said David Levine, an expert on federal court procedure at the University of California, Hastings College of Law.
“If they wanted to go after Chicago, if they wanted to go after Denver or Philadelphia, they would not be bound by an injunction,” he said. “Those places would have to bring their own lawsuits and whatever happens, happens in those cases.”
Trump signed the executive order in January 2017 — part of a push by his administration to go after cities and states that don’t work with U.S. immigration authorities.
The government also has moved to withhold a particular law enforcement grant from sanctuary jurisdictions and sued California over three laws that extend protections to people in the country illegally.

Eroding the Trust To Report Crime

The Trump administration says sanctuary cities and states allow dangerous criminals back on the street. San Francisco and other sanctuary cities say turning local police into immigration officers erodes the trust needed to get people to report crime.
The executive order directed the attorney general and secretary of Homeland Security to ensure that jurisdictions refusing to comply with a particular immigration law generally are not eligible to receive U.S. grants.

“When a president overreaches and tries to assert authority he doesn’t have under the Constitution, there needs to be a check on that power grab. The courts did that today, which is exactly what the framers of the Constitution had in mind.” — Dennis Herrera, San Francisco City Attorney
U.S. District Judge William Orrick in San Francisco ruled in November that the order threatened all federal funding and that the president lacked the authority to attach new conditions to spending approved by Congress.
The executive order potentially jeopardized hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to San Francisco and Santa Clara counties, Orrick said, citing comments by Trump and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions as evidence of the order’s scope.
The Trump administration said the order applied to a relatively small pot of money that already required compliance with the immigration law.
Santa Clara County Counsel James R. Williams said the decision was a victory for a key provision of the U.S. Constitution.
In a colorful dissenting opinion, 9th Circuit Judge Ferdinand Fernandez said the executive order clearly says any action by the attorney general or Homeland Security secretary was to be taken in accordance with the law.
Fernandez, who was nominated to the 9th Circuit by Republican President George H.W. Bush, said Orrick had pushed that language aside. Fernandez called the counties’ fears about the order an “imagined beast.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Iran’s Army Chief Says Israeli Threats Remain, State Media Say

DON'T MISS

Tens of Thousands Join Pro-Palestinian March Over Sydney Harbour Bridge

DON'T MISS

Trump, Carney to Speak in Coming Days, Canadian Official Says

DON'T MISS

Rail Customers Urge Regulators to Block Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Deal, FT Reports

DON'T MISS

United States Set World Record in Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

DON'T MISS

White House Backs Away From IVF Coverage Mandate Despite Trump’s Campaign Pledge, Washington Post Reports

DON'T MISS

Six More Die of Hunger in Gaza, Israel Says UN Trucks Make Fuel Delivery

DON'T MISS

Gifford Fire Grows to Nearly 40,000 Acres. Evacuation Orders Expanded in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

DON'T MISS

This Test Can See a Heart Attack in Your Future

DON'T MISS

‘South Park’ Skewers a New Kind of Sanctimony and Trump

UP NEXT

Rail Customers Urge Regulators to Block Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Deal, FT Reports

UP NEXT

United States Set World Record in Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

UP NEXT

White House Backs Away From IVF Coverage Mandate Despite Trump’s Campaign Pledge, Washington Post Reports

UP NEXT

Gifford Fire Grows to Nearly 40,000 Acres. Evacuation Orders Expanded in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

UP NEXT

The US Said It Had No Choice but to Deport Them to a Third Country. Then It Sent Them Home

UP NEXT

Trump Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Western Sahara

UP NEXT

Newsom Wants Voters to Weigh In on New Congressional Districts in November

UP NEXT

Kia America Recalls 201,149 US Telluride Vehicles

UP NEXT

US Reviewing Visa Denial for Venezuelan Little League Players, State Department Says

UP NEXT

Gifford Fire Grows to 23,588 Acres in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

Rail Customers Urge Regulators to Block Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Deal, FT Reports

11 hours ago

United States Set World Record in Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

12 hours ago

White House Backs Away From IVF Coverage Mandate Despite Trump’s Campaign Pledge, Washington Post Reports

12 hours ago

Six More Die of Hunger in Gaza, Israel Says UN Trucks Make Fuel Delivery

12 hours ago

Gifford Fire Grows to Nearly 40,000 Acres. Evacuation Orders Expanded in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

12 hours ago

This Test Can See a Heart Attack in Your Future

13 hours ago

‘South Park’ Skewers a New Kind of Sanctimony and Trump

13 hours ago

India Will Buy Russian Oil Despite Trump’s Threats, Officials Say

1 day ago

The US Said It Had No Choice but to Deport Them to a Third Country. Then It Sent Them Home

1 day ago

Trump Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Western Sahara

1 day ago

Iran’s Army Chief Says Israeli Threats Remain, State Media Say

DUBAI — The commander-in-chief of Iran’s military, Amir Hatami, said on Sunday that threats from Israel persist, according to state me...

11 hours ago

Iranian Army commander-in-chief Amir Hatami attends a meeting in the Iranian Army's War Command Room at an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on June 23, 2025. (Reuters File)
11 hours ago

Iran’s Army Chief Says Israeli Threats Remain, State Media Say

Protesters walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the Palestine Action Group's March for Humanity in Sydney, Australia, August 3, 2025. AAP/Dean Lewins via REUTERS
11 hours ago

Tens of Thousands Join Pro-Palestinian March Over Sydney Harbour Bridge

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives at a press conference to make an announcement on recognizing Palestinian statehood, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, July 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
11 hours ago

Trump, Carney to Speak in Coming Days, Canadian Official Says

A Union Pacific rail car is parked at a Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) train yard in Seattle, Washington, U.S., February 10, 2017. (Reuters File)
11 hours ago

Rail Customers Urge Regulators to Block Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Deal, FT Reports

World Aquatics Championships - Women 4x100m Medley Relay Final - World Aquatics Championships Arena, Singapore - August 3, 2025 Regan Smith, Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske of the U.S. celebrate after winning the final and making a new world record REUTERS/Edgar Su
12 hours ago

United States Set World Record in Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

A view shows Alabama Fertility, an IVF clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, U.S., February, 23, 2024. (Reuters File)
12 hours ago

White House Backs Away From IVF Coverage Mandate Despite Trump’s Campaign Pledge, Washington Post Reports

12 hours ago

Six More Die of Hunger in Gaza, Israel Says UN Trucks Make Fuel Delivery

The Gifford Fire has scorched nearly 40,000 acres in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties as of Sunday, August 3, 2025, prompting multiple evacuation orders and the closure of Highway 166 as crews work to contain the fast-moving wildfire. (CalFire)
12 hours ago

Gifford Fire Grows to Nearly 40,000 Acres. Evacuation Orders Expanded in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend