Federal Judge Rules DOJ Cannot Punish Sanctuary Cities by Blocking Public Safety Grant Money

In July 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice said that it will withhold federal grant money for law enforcement from cities that refuse to allow federal immigration authorities access to their jails. This was yet another volley in the back-and-forth conflict between President Trump and the sanctuary cities throughout the United States.

A sanctuary city places limits on how and if it cooperates with federal immigration enforcement agents to protect immigrants from deportation. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center reports that there are four states, 39 cities and 364 counties in the U.S. that have adopted the pro-immigrant policies inspired by the sanctuary movement. The Center for Immigration Studies has a map of sanctuary states, cities and counties.

Chicago’s lawsuit against the DoJ

In August, the city of Chicago filed a lawsuit in the Northern Illinois District Court against the Department of Justice over its withholding of federal law enforcement public safety grants to sanctuary cities. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel issued a statement, saying “Chicago will not be blackmailed into changing our values, and we are and will remain a welcoming City. The federal government should be working with cities to provide necessary resources to improve public safety, not concocting new schemes to reduce our crime fighting resources,” as reported by the Washington Post.

The DOJ ruling would require local authorities to give federal immigration authorities access to their jails. It also requires them to notify the federal authorities 48 hours in advance of their plans to release inmates who are wanted on a federal immigration detainer.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said of the Chicago lawsuit, “This administration will not simply give away grant dollars to city governments that proudly violate the rule of law and protect criminal aliens at the expense of public safety. So, it’s this simple: Comply with the law or forego taxpayer dollars.”

What the judge said

In September, U.S. District Court Judge Harry Leinweber blocked the federal government’s attempt to use the withholding of federal public safety grants to discourage the policies of sanctuary cities that protect undocumented immigrants. The federal judge issued a nationwide preliminary injunction, forbidding the Justice Department from adding new grant conditions which required cities to also aid immigration agents’ access to local jails, and from insisting that local authorities give advance notice when a suspected illegal immigrant is about to be released from custody.

In his 41-page opinion, Judge Leinweber said that the new conditions “violate the separation of powers doctrine,” which delegates the power to make laws to the Congress.

In response to the judge’s ruling, Mayor Emanuel said the following at a press conference, as per Politico:

“This is not just a victory for the City of Chicago. It’s a win for cities, counties and states across the country. It’s an affirmation of the rule of law. It’s an assertion of our most fundamental American values and it’s an unambiguous, clear rejection of the false choice that the Trump Justice Department wanted Chicago to make between our values, our principles and our priorities.”

The cities of Philadelphia, San Francisco, and the state of California are also suing the federal government over the public safety grant funding issue, but no rulings have been made in those cases.

These are difficult days when it comes to immigration in the U.S. At LaFevor & Slaughter, our Knoxville immigration lawyers guide you and make sure that your rights are protected throughout the immigration process. Please give us a call at 865-637-6258, or fill out this contact form. We’re here to serve you.