Judge Rules Against Trump Administration in Sanctuary Cities Case

A federal judge ruled against the Department of Justice Friday, prohibiting the agency from suspending federal money to six states and New York City because they are “sanctuary cities,” CNN reports. The lawsuit challenged the DOJ’s efforts to withhold law-enforcement grants from states who do not comply with “specific immigration enforcement measures”—like permitting federal law enforcement to have access to detainees in jails. Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the new restrictions for the grant program last year. The states suing—including New York, New Jersey, and Virginia—had received “over $25 million” in funding from the same grants the DOJ wanted to put restrictions on. Judge Edgardo Ramos wrote that the restrictions were the first of their kind in “the history of the program” and ruled against them. New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood wrote that Ramos’ ruling was “a major win for New Yorkers’ public safety.”