Tuesday [April 25, 2017], a San Francisco judge put a temporary block on President Trump’s executive order on sanctuary cities.
It was Judge William H. Orrick of the United States District Court who expressed his opposition to the Trump administration’s attempt at denying federal funds to cities who do not cooperate with authorities on immigration enforcement, citing that only Congress has such power.
This nationwide ruling is only the latest in a string of federal judges using their position to push back against controversial immigration orders presented by President Trump.
It follows behind the blockings of the travel bans that Trump tried to enforce at the beginning of the year.
Similar to these rulings, it was the rhetoric that has surrounded the Trump administration that served as something of a “smoking gun” in Judge Orrick’s decision.
“If there was doubt about the scope of the Order, the President and Attorney General have erased it with their public comments,” Orrick wrote in his 49-page ruling.
This ruling serves as a temporary solution while the implications of the executive order are further examined, including the possibility of its violation of the Constitution through the infraction of the powers of Congress and sovereignty of the states.
