Judge Blocks Trump: He Cannot Withhold Funds from “Sanctuary Cities”

• Which sanctuary cities won the case?
• Why did Trump want to cut the funds from sanctuary cities?
• What did the federal judge say?

A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to cut funding to so-called “sanctuary cities.”

District Judge William Orrick ruled Thursday in favor of 16 cities and counties, including San Francisco, that legally challenged the Republican administration.

These localities had refused to cooperate with the mass arrests and deportations promoted by Trump’s government.

According to the lawsuit filed in February, Trump’s measure was illegal because it sought to force local governments to enforce federal immigration laws.

Trump Cannot Withhold Funds from Sanctuary Cities

?#BREAKING | Trump suffers double court setbacks: one judge blocks his attempt to eliminate DEI in schools and another prohibits him from denying federal funds to sanctuary cities that limit immigration cooperation: https://t.co/t1i3wrv8yy pic.twitter.com/pywlJQ0PLC

– Telemundo Atlanta (@telemundoatl) April 24, 2025

Jurisdictions such as Minneapolis, New Haven, Portland, St. Paul, Santa Fe, and Seattle argued that the government was trying to punish them for exercising their right to control how they allocate their resources.

The controversy arose after an executive order signed by Trump.

This order threatened to eliminate federal funding for “sanctuary” cities that limited their cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

These policies protect immigrants by preventing local authorities from directly collaborating with ICE.

One day before the cities filed their lawsuit, the Department of Justice had submitted its own case against the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago.

In that case, they sought to block the “sanctuary” laws promoted by Democratic leaders, arguing that they obstructed the federal immigration agenda.

However, with this ruling, Judge William Orrick has halted the administration’s punitive efforts.

According to the decision, the White House cannot condition federal funding on changes to local immigration policies.

This ruling represents significant support for cities seeking to protect their immigrant communities.

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With information from Efe and Telemundo.