Trump's funding pull for 34 'sanctuary cities' halted by court order
In a significant development, a federal judge has expanded an injunction against the Trump administration, affecting more than 30 cities and counties across the United States. The order, issued by Judge William H. Orrick, follows a previous one issued in April that affected 16 other cities and counties.
The cities and counties included in the expanded order are Los Angeles, Boston, Denver, Baltimore, Chicago, Columbus, Ohio, and several others. Notably, the order applies to cities and counties with local laws that limit assistance to federal immigration agents, often referred to as sanctuary cities.
The Trump administration has been increasing immigration operations and drastically scaling up deportations. In response, the administration has embedded immigration agents with more than a dozen law enforcement agencies and city police in the District of Columbia. However, the recent order prohibits the administration from denying funding to these cities and counties.
The funding at issue includes federal grants amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. The groups suing had considered putting on hold an array of capital projects and vital services due to uncertainty about federal funding. The city of Carson in California joined the lawsuit of local governments against President Trump’s actions to prevent sanctuary cities following Judge William H. Orrick’s ruling on Friday, June 26, 2025.
After the Supreme Court limited the power of federal judges in June to impose sweeping injunctions, outside groups have struggled to secure rulings that apply to more than a narrow subset of individuals, organizations, or cities and states involved in the litigation. However, the recent order effectively brought about a comparable result, as it applied to more cities and counties than the previous one.
The order in June affected 16 cities and counties, but the expanded order now reaches two dozen additional cities and 10 additional counties across 13 states. The original set was heavily concentrated in California but also included cities like Seattle, Minneapolis, and Portland, Oregon.
The administration has also been criticised for expanding funding for ICE through the tax and spending bill Congress passed in July. The administration knocked down barriers for sharing sensitive data from agencies like the IRS or Education Department for use in immigration enforcement, which multiple lawsuits claim is a breach of federal privacy laws.
The agents are checking the immigration status of people arrested over minor offenses or briefly held up during routine traffic stops. The administration argues that this is necessary to ensure public safety, but the cities and counties contend that it infringes on their sovereignty and violates the privacy rights of their residents.
The lawsuit before Judge William H. Orrick is one of the most ambitious cases this year against the Trump administration resisting the president's immigration policy. As the legal battle continues, the impact of the expanded order will be closely watched by cities, counties, and advocacy groups across the country.
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