Federal Judge Rules Against Trump on Sanctuary Cities
Supporters and critics of President Donald Trump can agree on one thing at least: He has had a roller coaster of a first term as president.
Trump has had several big wins for his administration, with healthier economic policies and yet another Supreme Court justice being chief among them.
Unfortunately, Trump has also faced his fair share of hardships as president. It’s been a never-ending struggle to get his border wall funded. And Trump’s immigration policies have been fought tooth and nail at every turn.
One of Trump’s biggest headaches has been in his dealings with sanctuary cities. After a federal judge’s ruling regarding California sanctuary cities, that headache could turn into a migraine for Trump.
According to Reuters, District Judge William Orrick in San Francisco ruled that the Trump administration cannot place conditions on public safety grants, known as the Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, and also ordered grant money to be released to California sanctuary cities.
Of note, Orrick seemed aware that an appeal was likely. He stayed a nationwide injunction in anticipation of an appeal.
Orrick did, however, rule that the conditions placed on on public safety grants by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions are unconstitutional.
According to Reuters, the grant conditions Orrick ruled on required cities “to provide Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents access to jails and prisons, provide notice when detainees were being released and certify that information was being shared with federal authorities.”
This is hardly Trump’s first time butting heads with California.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra sued the Trump administration in August 2017 over those very same grant conditions.
Sanctuary cities in general, not just those in California, have been a thorn in Trump’s side from the time he took office. Sanctuary cities across the U.S. have been obstructing Trump’s attempts to crack down on illegal immigration pretty much since he’s been elected.
Cities such as Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles have all successfully sued the Trump administration over the prerequisites placed on that funding.
Of all the issues Trump has campaigned over, securing America’s borders has to be his most maddening. He has faced roadblock after roadblock while trying to protect this country’s borders.
At the end of the day, this has been an infuriating issue for many Trump supporters. A sovereign nation with no borders is no nation at all.
More importantly, however, is the fact that nobody in the Trump administration is trying to end legal immigration.
No matter what misleading message many sanctuary cities seem to be peddling, no conservative opposes the United States accepting immigrants from around the world who can contribute to building a stronger America. Immigration, in and of itself, is a great thing when the world’s best and brightest legally enter America.
But sanctuary cities actively undermine this. Illegal immigrants are an undue strain on the country at the federal, state and local level. It seems like such a cut-and-dry statement.
Unfortunately for many Americans, some of these cities find it more important to fight for those illegal citizens than their own legal citizens.
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