San Francisco Leads Lawsuit Against Trump’s Threats to Punish Sanctuary Cities

Updated 2:55 p.m. Friday

San Francisco and Santa Clara counties, joined by three other cities and counties across the country, are suing the Trump administration over its threats to punish jurisdictions that have sanctuary immigration policies, calling the moves unconstitutional.

The suit, filed in the Northern District of California, asks the court to declare the Trump administration’s actions unlawful and prevent the federal government from implementing them. The two Bay Area counties brought similar lawsuits during the first Trump administration and won.

Attorneys say the Trump administration is violating the 10th Amendment, which says that powers not given to the federal government are reserved for the states. The amendment has been interpreted as prohibiting the federal government from forcing states to use their resources to carry out federal responsibilities, such as immigration enforcement. The suit also alleges that Trump’s actions violate the separation of powers, spending clause, due process clause and administrative procedures act.

“This is the federal government illegally asserting a right it does not have, telling cities how to use their resources, and commandeering local law enforcement,” San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said. “This is the federal government coercing local officials to bend to their will or face defunding or prosecution. That is illegal and authoritarian. As local officials, we have a right to do our jobs without threats and interference from the federal government.”

The lawsuit is also joined by Portland, Oregon, New Haven, Connecticut, and King County, Washington.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the suit.

Since Trump took office, he and his administration have made a number of moves to crack down on sanctuary jurisdictions — generally cities, counties and states that prohibit local officials from participating in most immigration enforcement activities.

Trump issued an executive order calling for sanctuary cities, counties and states to lose federal funds, and the administration issued Department of Justice memos instructing federal law enforcement to investigate and civilly and criminally prosecute local officials who don’t actively assist in immigration enforcement. Earlier this week, the Department of Justice threatened to prosecute a local sheriff in New York state for releasing an undocumented immigrant who had pleaded guilty to assault.

And on Thursday, the federal government filed suit against Chicago, Cook County and Illinois, challenging their sanctuary laws. In that suit, the administration charged that sanctuary jurisdictions make it more difficult for and deliberately impede federal immigration officers.

Chiu said that lawsuit made “the prosecution of state and local officials for following their local laws a reality.”

Sanctuary jurisdictions like San Francisco do not prevent the federal government from carrying out its own immigration enforcement. And California’s statewide sanctuary laws include provisions that require state prison and local jail officials to hand over people lacking legal status after they serve their sentence if they are convicted of serious and violent crimes.

However, the laws make a clear distinction between federal immigration enforcement and local law enforcement.

Supporters say San Francisco’s law, in place since 1989, is aimed at ensuring that immigrants, with legal status or not, feel comfortable reporting crimes to local police. Supporters, including Chiu, argue that such laws make communities safer.

“The Trump Administration’s actions have nothing to do with public safety because we know that sanctuary laws improve public safety,” said Chiu.

Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti added that both counties are “striving to create a culture of trust and security within our communities so that our residents know that they can come to the county when they are in need or when they can be of help.”

During the first Trump administration, San Francisco and Santa Clara sued the federal government for attempting to withhold federal funds based on their sanctuary policies; the two counties prevailed in that suit before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that the policies were legal and the withholding of funds were not.

Chiu said the latest threats to withhold funding are identical to the first time around, noting Trump used the same exact executive order language that was struck down before — but that this time, the administration also expanded the offensive to include investigations both civil and criminal.

“The federal government can’t weaponize federal funding to bully us away from that commitment to trust and security,” LoPresti said. “We worked hand in hand with San Francisco in 2017 to enforce the Constitution against the Trump administration. We litigated before, and we prevailed. We are litigating again, and we will prevail again.”

UCLA law professor Hiroshi Motomura said the Constitution does prohibit state law from conflicting with federal law but added that in past cases, the courts have ruled clearly on the sides of the states when it comes to the question of whether the federal government can force a city to use its personnel or resources to do the federal government’s job. Immigration has been clearly defined as in the purview of the federal government, Motomura added.

“The Constitution protects city and local autonomy,” he said. “If ICE calls up San Francisco and says we need some of your police officers to back up an immigration raid, the city attorney would surely say that’s commandeering. You can’t tell us how to spend our resources, basically make local decisions for us.”

Still, Motomura said part of the Trump administration’s goal is a chilling effect, to scare immigrants in sanctuary jurisdictions — and prevent other cities and counties from enacting new sanctuary laws or policies.

“A lot of what’s going on in the administration is, you know, basically messaging and making people afraid. And so a lot of that is accomplished whether or not there is even ever a lawsuit or even follow through,” he said.

San Francisco and Santa Clara County receive billions of dollars a year from the federal government. Chiu and LoPresti said that the Trump administration has not yet actually withheld any funds.

But, LoPresti added, “We have seen the administration moving so fast, and oftentimes so chaotically, it’s difficult to tell when they are putting something forward or withdrawing it. So rather than be caught flat-footed, we definitely felt like we needed to be proactive rather than wait for the impacts to our residents in our community.”