A collection of local governments, including the city of Portland, intend to sue the Trump administration on Friday to overturn the executive order that targets sanctuary cities.
President Donald Trump and his administration have taken actions to target cities and counties that do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, which has prompted the lawsuit, which is being brought by the City and County of San Francisco and Santa Clara County, California.
The lawsuit will particularly challenge a recent executive order from Trump that aims to withhold federal cash to sanctuary communities. It will be filed in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California.
At a press conference on Friday, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson stated that sanctuary laws and policies give priority to our state and local resources for traditional law enforcement and local objectives. We oppose the federal government’s plan to cut funding for our city’s vital services, infrastructure, and public safety.
Wilson went on to say that federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, not local authorities, are in charge of enforcing immigration laws.
The complaint was filed a day after the U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Thursday, contesting Chicago’s and Illinois’s undocumented immigration protection statutes.
Trump also took action to stop sanctuary communities from receiving federal assistance during his previous administration. Several panels of appeals courts, even ones made up entirely of Republican appointees, decided that the executive branch lacked the authority to overrule congressional financing decisions.
Those efforts to deny funds were defeated by a number of jurisdictions, including Portland and Oregon. In 2019, a federal judge said that Trump was not allowed to block $6 million in grants intended for Oregon law enforcement.
At Friday’s press conference, Portland City Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney stated that we must defend our sanctuary policies in accordance with both state law and the principles of our city. Under the previous Trump administration, we successfully contested this matter. I have faith that we will be joining today.
If Trump’s most recent executive order targeting sanctuary cities is enforced, federal funding for local government activities and programs, including law enforcement, may be decreased or eliminated.
The U.S. Department of Justice has given Portland more than $10 million in grants to support the city’s police body camera program, community violence intervention initiatives, and the effort to process a backlog of unprocessed rape kits that has accumulated over the years, among other things, Portland City Attorney Robert Taylor announced Friday.
Taylor claimed that Trump’s executive order jeopardizes the financing, which the federal government has not yet made available to the city.
Taylor stated that this government assistance is significant, useful to our city, and deserving of defense.
Since 2017, Portland has been designated as a sanctuary city. That year, the Portland City Council issued a resolution declaring that, unless mandated by law, neither city funds nor employees shall be utilized to support federal immigration enforcement.
In a letter to Portland City Council last month, Wilson reiterated Portland’s resolve to continue being a sanctuary city.
Wilson wrote, “We stand together in solidarity with our immigrant families.” We must help them through these trying times because their businesses, families, and lives are woven into the fabric of our community. Regardless of the challenges our community faces in the future, we must unite to live out our common principles of sanctuary from government overreach and freedom from fear.
Crime, public safety, and local news are all topics covered by breaking news reporter Tatum Todd. You can reach them at 503-221-4313 or [email protected].
Jamie Goldberg is in charge of covering homelessness, education, and politics for The Oregonian/OregonLive. You can contact her at 503-221-8228 or [email protected]. She can be reached on Bluesky at @jamiebgoldberg.bsky.social or on X at @jamiebgoldberg.
