A Federal Judge in San Francisco, William Orrick, has blocked an order by President Donald Trump’s administration to withhold funding from communities that limit cooperation with U.S. immigration authorities.
Orrick, a U.S. District Judge, issued the temporary ruling on Tuesday in a lawsuit over the executive order targeting so-called sanctuary cities, according to reports.
In the U.S. and Canada, a sanctuary city is a city that limits its cooperation with the national government in order to help people, who are in the country illegally to avoid deportation.
Such people are frequently described as illegal immigrants or undocumented immigrants.
The decision on Tuesday would stay in place while the lawsuit moves through court.
Trump’s administration and two California governments had sued over the order – San Francisco and Santa Clara County – disagreed about its scope.
San Francisco and Santa Clara County argued that Trump administration’s decision to withhold funding threatened billions of dollars in Federal funding.
However, an Attorney for the Justice Department, Chad Readler, said at a recent court hearing that it applied to a limited set of grants.
Readler said less than one million dollars was at stake nationally and possibly no San Francisco funding. (NAN)