On Thursday, a federal appeals court said that public safety grants could not be denied to so-called ‘sanctuary cities’ that limit their cooperation with the illegal immigration crackdown being pursued by the Trump administration by the Justice Department. The ruling, from the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals, reinforced an injunction by a lower court in the city of Chicago case.
The appeals court reiterated that the original injunction should apply across the US until the lawsuit is heard in a federal court. The case is one of several battles between Democratic local and state leaders and the administration of Republican President Donald Trump over issues such as the environment, healthcare, and immigration.
Chicago went to court in 2017 following the decision by Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, to prevent some cities from obtaining specific grants from the Justice Department if they continued to refuse to allow federal immigration authorities unlimited access to local jails while providing 48-hours advance warning when releasing any immigrant inmates who were also wanted for violations of immigration law. The lawsuit argued that Sessions’ decision was beyond his authority and that he had no right to impose new conditions on those prescribed by Congress when the grant program was first established.
But, the three-judge 7th Circuit panel says that its role is to maintain the separation of powers within the different branches of the federal government and not to make decisions about national immigration policy.