District Court Blocks Trump's Sanctuary Cities Order

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - A federal judge ruled against President Donald Trump's administration Monday, issuing an injunction against an executive order intended to block federal funding to sanctuary cities. The executive order gave the federal government the power to block funding based on whether cities welcomed undocumented immigrants and resisted attempts to have them deported. Santa Clara and San Francisco both challenged the executive order, and U.S. District Judge William Orrick of San Francisco ruled in their favor.

In April, Orrick had issued a temporary injunction which was made permanent in Monday's decision.

Although there is no one common definition of "sanctuary city" (Seattle calls itself a "Welcoming City" for example), such cities typically direct jails and police not to inquire about immigration status. Some local sanctuary-like cities include Burien, Bellevue, Seattle, King County, Redmond, and Kirkland.

The Trump administration sent letters to King County warning that unless local policies on undocumented immigrants changed, federal funding would be slashed.

King County Council Chair Joe McDermott told KOMO News that Monday's ruling proves Trump's efforts to "bully and intimidate" communities will not be successful. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Seattle Patch, click here to find your local Washington Patch. Also, follow us on Facebook, and if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock