Politics
Federal Judge Blocks Trump from Yanking Funding from 16 Sanctuary Cities, Counties in Ruling That Could Bolster Chicago’s Efforts
The Chicago skyline. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from yanking funding from 16 cities and counties across the country because they have laws designed to protect undocumented immigrants by prohibiting state local law enforcement officials from helping federal agents.
The injunction issued by U.S. District Judge William Orrick does not apply to Chicago or Cook County but is likely to bolster efforts by city officials to prevent President Donald Trump from blowing a $3 billion hole in Chicago’s budget.
San Francisco officials filed the lawsuit on behalf of nine California cities and counties, including Oakland and San Diego, as well as Seattle, Minneapolis, St. Paul and Santa Fe that argued the administration was unlawfully trying to force local officials to aide federal immigration agents conducting deportation efforts.
Orrick’s order blocks the enforcement of an executive order designed to strip self-proclaimed sanctuary cities of all federal funding.
“The cities and counties have also demonstrated a likelihood of irreparable harm,” Orrick wrote. “The threat to withhold funding causes them irreparable injury in the form of budgetary uncertainty, deprivation of constitutional rights, and undermining trust between the cities and counties and the communities they serve.”
In February, the Trump administration asked a federal judge to invalidate the city’s Welcoming City ordinance and the Illinois Trust Act because they are “an intentional effort to obstruct the Federal Government’s enforcement of federal immigration law and to impede consultation and communication between federal, state, and local law enforcement officials that is necessary for federal officials to carry out federal immigration law and keep Americans safe,” according to the lawsuit.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker have repeatedly said Chicago and Illinois will continue to prohibit local and state law enforcement agents from helping Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deport undocumented residents unless they have been convicted of a crime.
Chicago expects to receive approximately $3.5 billion in new and existing federal grant dollars in 2025, officials said. The city’s 2025 budget is $17.1 billion.
In addition, the CTA expects to receive $1.9 billion from the federal government to extend the Red Line south to 130th Street and CPS received $1.3 billion from the federal government during the 2024-25 academic year.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
