Court Expands Injunction Shielding Sanctuary Cities From Funding Ties

A federal judge expanded an injunction barring the Trump administration from withholding or conditioning federal funding for sanctuary jurisdictions, extending protections to more than 30 cities and counties including Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Denver and Baltimore. The ruling preserves billions in federal support for cities that limit cooperation with immigration authorities while the broader legal battle over sanctuary policies continues.

The decision builds on an earlier ruling that protected a core group of cities and counties, including San Francisco, Seattle and Portland, from funding cuts tied to local immigration practices. The court’s action prevents the administration from using federal money as leverage to compel changes in sanctuary policies, ruling that the proposed approach amounts to an unconstitutional coercive threat. The judge wrote that the executive orders and related actions aimed at tying funding to immigration enforcement exceed constitutional boundaries and cannot be enforced against the newly joined plaintiffs, in addition to those originally covered.

The scope of the injunction was widened after a coalition of local governments joined the case,...