Judge blocks Trump admin from withholding funding to 34 cities and counties over ‘sanctuary’ policies

A federal judge has put a stop to the Trump administration’s attempts to withhold grant funding from “sanctuary” cities and counties that do not cooperate with immigration enforcement. Judge William Orrick issued a 15-page order granting a preliminary injunction against the administration’s efforts to withhold funds, expanding the number of cities that are protected from having their federal funding withheld due to their “sanctuary” status for undocumented immigrants.

The Trump administration has been targeting cities’ Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grants due to their lack of cooperation with immigration authorities. More than 30 cities, from Albuquerque to Boston, were affected by the ruling, which amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars in grants.

The administration has been ramping up its efforts to pressure so-called “sanctuary cities” to work with federal immigration enforcement. The Department of Justice has been filing legal challenges in various cities and states, including New York City, New York state, Los Angeles, Colorado, Illinois, and New Jersey, challenging policies that restrict immigration officials from making arrests at or near courthouses without a judge-signed warrant.

This is a developing story, and updates will be provided as more information becomes available.