San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera with staff announcing a lawsuit filed today over the executive order stripping funding from sanctuary cities. (Photo: Jason Doiy / The Recorder)
SAN FRANCISCO—The city of San Francisco has sued to block an executive order issued by President Donald Trump last week that would withhold more than $1 billion in federal funding from the city due to its “sanctuary city” policies.
President Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 25 directing federal officials to identify funds that could be withheld from sanctuary cities, a term describing about 300 communities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration officials in aiding deportation.
City Attorney Dennis Herrera said at a press conference Tuesday morning that he hopes the suit will send a message to the president that he’s “not emperor who rules by fiat.”
“We all have to abide by the rule of law. And we’re going to make this quite clear in this, that San Francisco is in accordance with the law, we’re going to live by the law, but Mr. President and your administration, you need to do it as well,” Herrera said.
According to the suit filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the executive order could result in the loss of more than $1 billion in federal funds for the city. The city is asking for a declaratory judgment finding the executive order barred by the 10th Amendment.
“This lawsuit is about state sovereignty and a local government’s autonomy to devote resources to local priorities and to control the exercise of its own police powers, rather than being forced to carry out the agenda of the federal government,” the suit states. “The United States Constitution guarantees states and local governments, such as San Francisco, that they may make those decisions and do not have to carry out the federal government’s immigration programs.”
The city’s lawsuit also seeks a judgment finding that San Francisco doesn’t violate a federal law against restricting its employees from sharing information with federal immigration officials.
If the executive order is implemented, Herrera said, San Francisco would lose critical funding for health care, law enforcement, homeless services and other city government programs.
The lawsuit also maintains that the executive order could impact the city’s ability to effectively police in immigrant communities. “When witnesses and crime victims will not talk to the police, law enforcement suffers and the entire community is less safe,” the suit states.
Also at the press conference was San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, who had earlier warned that the city would resist the Trump administration’s efforts on immigration policy. “Strong cities like San Francisco must continue to push our nation forward, and let this once again be a reminder to America that we are a city that fights for what is right,” Lee said.
