President Trump’s immigration plans encounter yet another setback.
(San Francisco, CA) Judge William H Orrick III has issued a ruling that blocked the government from enforcing part of an executive order signed by President Trump in January. The executive order stated that the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department must block federal funds for cities that refuse to enforce federal immigration laws. With his ruling, Judge Orrick agreed that it could be unconstitutional to block federal funds for cities that refuse to obey federal laws that are constitutional. As a federal judge, Orrick was able to make this ruling apply at a national level.
Judge Orrick did not specifically declare the executive order’s policies to be unconstitutional, but rather emphasized that cities in violation of the law could receive “immediate irreparable harm” if the policy was allowed to be enforced. The ruling instead acknowledged that cities protesting the policy on legal grounds could potentially succeed in court. While the Trump administration will not be able to prohibit federal money from going to cities actively in violation of federal law, it did not limit the government from enforcing conditions on federal grants or creating legal definitions of what a sanctuary jurisdiction is.
In his ruling, Orrick stated that the jurisdictions in question demonstrated they were “currently suffering irreparable harm” from an order that hasn’t even been carried out yet, because the threat caused “budget uncertainty” for cities that refused to obey federal law.
Judge Orrick assumed office as Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in 2013, after being appointed by Barack Obama. This came after Orrick worked for Coblentz, Patch, Duffy, and Bass to raise at least $100,000 for John Kerry in 2004 and at least $200,000 for Obama in 2008. He was also classified as a Mega Donor for 2008, due to giving $30,800 to committees that supported Obama.
In 2015, Judge Orrick made the news for blocking the release of undercover videos of Planned Parenthood that exposed the abortion provider for selling body parts of aborted children. With this latest ruling, Judge Orrick sends a strong message that at least in his Northern California courtroom, compliance with federal laws are optional.
