The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a number of cases that the Trump administration’s plan to deny law enforcement grants to cities that did not want to cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security are trying to dissuade non-citizens arrested by local police is, to deport.
The court, which has not yet decided whether to hear the cases, acted shortly after the Biden government and state and city governments in New York and California jointly asked the judges to dismiss the pending appeals.
Lower courts in New York and San Francisco have reached divergent conclusions on the power of the Department of Justice to withhold funds authorized by Congress to assist local police departments.
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“We are pleased that this issue has finally been brought to a head,” said San Francisco Attorney Dennis Herrera. “Federal officials can do their job in San Francisco, just like anywhere else in the country. But we did not want our police, firefighters and nurses to be commandeered and allowed to be changed in the Trump administration’s deportation.”
About $ 1.4 million a year in federal funds was at stake for San Francisco, the city attorney’s office said.
“Local law enforcement’s ability to protect their jurisdictions should never be compromised to advance an anti-immigrant agenda,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said. “We look forward to continuing to work with the government to ensure that the state and communities never have to choose between protecting their autonomy and protecting public safety.”
The justice department declined to comment.
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The legal challenges have arisen at various times since 2017, when the Trump administration said it would withhold legal aid grants from local governments that refuse to meet three new conditions. This includes notifying immigration agents on request of the scheduled release of any person in custody who ‘believes to be a foreigner’, giving immigration officers access to local prisons and sharing immigration status with federal authorities.
The move was aimed at cities such as New York and San Francisco that adopted so-called sanctuary policies, restricting cooperation with immigration authorities. Local officials say such policies improve public safety by increasing trust between immigrant communities and the police. The Trump administration has said the cities tolerate the presence of non-citizens who have committed crimes and pose a danger to the public.