SACRAMENTO, CA – The city of Sacramento this week joined a lawsuit filed against the Trump Administration that claims the administration is unlawfully targeting sanctuary cities across the country, according to a KCRA report.
This lawsuit follows President Donald Trump’s first executive order to withhold federal funding from jurisdictions that refuse to use local resources to help officials with immigration actions.
As the KCRA report states, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered the Department of Homeland Security to hold funding, urging the Department of Justice to review Trump’s prosecution and enforcement against non-cooperative jurisdictions.
With San Francisco leading the coalition, KCRA reports the coalition is “suing Trump, calling his order an ‘abuse of power’” and requesting a judge to prevent the enforcement of the executive action. Others in the coalition include Santa Clara County and the cities of Portland, Oregon, and New Haven, Connecticut.”
The news report notes Sacramento became a sanctuary city in 1985 and reaffirmed its status in 2017 during Mayor Darrell Steinberg’s term in office, and current mayor Kevin McCarty referred to the city as “a safe haven for refugees fleeing hardship and persecution. It is the moral tradition of our nation and our city to protect immigrants and refugees. Sacramento will uphold this legacy.”
KCRA explained if Trump’s executive order is allowed to withhold funding, the Sacramento Police Department could lose the $1.6 million in DOJ grants used for hiring officers, funding gunfire detection systems, as well as improvements to crime mapping and the digital forensic unit.
The city is also expecting $175 million in federal reimbursements to go toward public works and public safety, as well as medical services, to also be withheld following a notice from the government.
KCRA added, “This comes at a time when the city is working to close a $62.2 million budget gap in the 2025-2026 fiscal year. City leaders are also projecting the deficit could grow to $130 million in the next five years if expenses continue to grow faster than revenues. While Sacramento and other jurisdictions assert that they are in the right limiting their involvement in helping federal civil immigration enforcement, the White House disagrees.”
The Trump Administration in February sued officials in Illinois and Chicago for allegedly obstructing its crackdowns on illegal immigration. Cited in the suit is the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution, stating federal laws take precedence over state laws, reported KCRA.
The Sacramento Police Department has responded it does not plan on enforcing federal immigration laws, “focusing instead on crime and prevention and community trust,” said KCRA, noting this is not the first time San Francisco has sued the Trump administration—in 2017 the city filed a lawsuit in response to an earlier executive order making sanctuary jurisdiction ineligible for federal grants.
