President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January 2017 to limit funding to cities that don’t cooperate with federal immigration enforcement — also known as sanctuary cities. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo 9th Circuit rules White House can’t withhold money from ‘sanctuary cities’

President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting federal funding to so-called sanctuary cities was ruled unconstitutional by a federal appeals court on Wednesday.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that federal funding could be withheld only with congressional authorization. The appeals court also noted that the U.S. District Court went too far by blocking the policy nationwide, and sent back the case for “reconsideration and further findings.”


“We conclude that, under the principle of Separation of Powers and in consideration of the Spending Clause, which vests exclusive power to Congress to impose conditions on federal grants, the Executive Branch may not refuse to disperse the federal grants in question without congressional authorization,” a three-member panel of the 9th Circuit said in its 2-to-1 ruling .

Trump signed an executive order in January 2017 that dealt with interior immigration enforcement. The 9th Circuit on Wednesday ruled against a provision that limited funding to jurisdictions that don’t cooperate with federal immigration enforcement — also known as sanctuary cities.

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The executive order focused on a federal statute that prohibits federal, state and local officials from restricting the sharing of information related to an individual’s immigration or citizenship status. While the appeals court didn’t rule on that statute, U.S.C. 1373, a Chicago-based federal judge in late July found it unconstitutional in separate lawsuit over withholding of federal grants over immigration enforcement. That ruling was limited to the city of Chicago, the plaintiff in the case.

The Justice Department issued a statement Wednesday condemning the ruling as a "victory for criminal aliens in California" and said the department will continue to be committed to "keeping criminal aliens off the streets."

“Today’s divided Ninth Circuit opinion is a victory for criminal aliens in California, who can continue to commit crimes knowing that the state’s leadership will protect them from federal immigration officers whose job it is to hold them accountable and remove them from the country," DOJ spokesman Devin O'Malley said in a statement.

He also praised the court's decision to send the nationwide injunction back to the district court, calling it a "victory."

“When courts issue nationwide injunctions and order relief beyond the scope of a particular lawsuit, they overstep their role and improperly limit the government from functioning,” O'Malley said.

San Francisco and Santa Clara counties in California sued the Trump administration over the policy. Santa Clara County said that $1.7 billion in federal money was in jeopardy under Trump’s executive order, while San Francisco cited $1.2 billion.

California has consistently been a target by the Trump administration for its policies dealing with sanctuary cities.

The majority opinion on Wednesday, written by Chief Judge Sidney Thomas, referenced an interview Trump had on Feb. 5, 2017, with Bill O’Reilly in which he specifically called out California when speaking about sanctuary cities.

“I’m very much opposed to sanctuary cities,” said in the interview. “If we have to defund, we give tremendous amounts of money to California ... California in many ways is out of control.”

In addition, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has designated California, Santa Clara and San Francisco as jurisdictions that “Restrict Cooperation with ICE,” the majority opinion noted.

This is not the first time the Trump administration and California have been in a legal battle.

Last month, District Court Judge John Mendez rejected the Trump administration’s demand to halt a California law that limits what kind of information state and local law enforcement share with the federal government regarding immigration. In addition, the judge also declined to block a separate law guaranteeing California officials certain information about local and privately run jails that hold immigration detainees in the state.

James R. Williams, the Santa Clara County counsel, praised the court’s decision on Wednesday.

“Today, the Ninth Circuit joined with courts across the country in holding that the Trump Administration’s unconstitutional abuses of power cannot stand,” Williams said in a statement. “The Ninth Circuit decision is a victory for the Separation of Powers principles at the core of the Nation’s Constitution. Put simply: the President cannot use the threat of defunding as a weapon to force local governments to abandon policies that make their communities safer.”

Ted Hesson contributed to this report.

