Federal Judge Blocks Trump Order on Sanctuary City Funding

>A US judge in San Fancisco has placed a preliminary injunction on President Donald Trump's executive order vowing to restrict federal funding for so-called sanctuary cities that do not comply with immigration enforcement orders.

On Tuesday, San Franciso and Santa Clara County won a preliminary injunction, barring enforcement of the executive order signed January 25.

US District Judge William Orrick III agreed that the executive order violated the US Constitution, by punishing local governments that did not participate in federal immigration enforcement.

There is no clear definition of "sanctuary city" in federal law, but Justice Department lawyer Chad Readler told the judge that the executive order would only apply to three programs administered by the DOJ or the Department of Homeland Security, "a very narrow range of funding," Readler told the judge, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Readler reportedly said that San Francisco doesn't currently receive funds from those programs, but that Santa Clara County receives about $1 million.

San Francisco and Santa Clara County argued their case based on the doctrine of anti-commandeering, a principle recognized by the US Supreme Court in the 1997 gun control case Printz v. United States. In that case, a conservative sheriff sued the government, and won, arguing he was not required to enforce federal gun background checks.