NEW YORK CITY— A federal judge in Brooklyn dismissed the Trump administration's lawsuit challenging New York City laws limiting local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, allowing the City's restrictions to remain in place.
U.S. District Judge Ramon Reyes ruled on Thursday that the federal government lacked a valid legal basis to challenge the laws.
He found that New York state law already prohibits the police practice targeted by one provision and that federal law does not require local governments to share certain information about people in their custody with immigration authorities.
The Justice Department filed the lawsuit in July 2025 against New York City, then-Mayor Eric Adams and other City officials.
The complaint argued that the City's sanctuary policies interfered with federal immigration enforcement and violated the Constitution's Supremacy Clause, which establishes federal law's authority over conflicting state and local laws.
The department also alleged that the policies allowed people accused or convicted of serious crimes to evade federal immigration authorities. It sought to block the City from enforcing the challenged provisions.
The ruling leaves in place rules limiting when City agencies and police can assist federal civil immigration enforcement, including restrictions on detaining people at federal authorities' requests and sharing certain custody information.
New York City's sanctuary laws, which date to the 1980s, limit how local agencies participate in federal civil immigration enforcement.
They also restrict the sharing of certain information about people in City custody.
The rules affect how immigrants interact with public institutions, including police, health agencies and other municipal services.
"The court made clear that the federal government has no standing to bring this case and cannot commandeer our Cityworkers to do its bidding," Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.
The ruling also marks a setback for the Trump administration's effort to force local governments to take a more active role in federal immigration enforcement.
The decision does not end the broader dispute over sanctuary policies.
The Trump administration has pursued similar legal challenges against other jurisdictions as it seeks greater cooperation from state and local governments in carrying out its immigration agenda.
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