Jeff Sessions lost in court over sanctuary cities — again

A federal judge on Friday ruled against the Department of Justice in a case against California concerning sanctuary cities.

At issue was Attorney General Jeff Sessions' policy of making public safety grants dependent on cities' compliance with his department's demand for cooperation of local police forces with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) efforts to crack down on illegal immigration. Sessions required grant recipient cities to share information as well as prison and jail access with ICE.

This is one of several similar losses the Trump administration has taken at court over its sanctuary city opposition. Last fall, U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick permanently blocked President Trump's executive order to cut funding to the cities, calling it "unconstitutional on its face." And in April, a federal judge likewise sided with Los Angeles against the DOJ, ruling the agency can't dole out federal funding based on whether jurisdictions follow sanctuary city policies.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Sanctuary cities limit cooperation with federal immigration agents, arguing immigrants will be discouraged from reporting crime if they are worried about deportation. Read more about sanctuary cities and how they work here at The Week.