Los Angeles can't be punished for sanctuary city policies, federal judge rules

The Department of Justice cannot dole out federal funding based on whether jurisdictions follow sanctuary city policies, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

The city of Los Angeles filed a lawsuit against Attorney General Jeff Sessions after he announced a crackdown on sanctuary laws, which allow local law enforcement to decline to work with federal immigration agencies. The city claimed that Sessions was abusing his power by basing funding decisions on whether local agencies cooperated with demands to increase immigration policy enforcement, Bloomberg reports. The district judge agreed with Los Angeles, saying that the Justice Department shouldn't give extra grant money to cities that don't employ sanctuary policies.

The ruling was one of several similar cases. After President Trump signed an executive order blocking sanctuary cities from receiving certain federal grants, San Francisco sued to continue receiving federal funding and won. Lawsuits in Chicago and Philadelphia also halted enforcement of the Trump administration's conditional funding, reports Bloomberg.

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A DOJ spokesperson disagreed with the ruling for Los Angeles, saying in a statement that "the department has the lawful discretion to give additional consideration for jurisdictions that prioritize the safety of their communities." Read more at Bloomberg.