Santa Clara County calls Trump’s sanctuary order ‘extortion’

Santa Clara County officials asked a federal judge Thursday to impose a nationwide preliminary injunction against President Trump’s executive order threatening to withhold federal funds from sanctuary jurisdictions, calling the move “extortion” by the White House.

The motion was filed in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco as part of the county’s Feb. 3 suit challenging the constitutionality of Trump’s Jan. 25 order. In the order, the president calls for federal defunding of sanctuary jurisdictions that “willfully violate Federal law in an attempt to shield aliens from removal from the United States.”

The request for a nationwide injunction went a step further than a federal lawsuit filed by San Francisco on Jan. 31. San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera alleged the executive order targeting sanctuary cities violated the 10th Amendment, which limits the reach of the federal government in state matters.

The executive order sought to withhold funds “except as mandated by law.” But Santa Clara County officials argued that nearly $1.7 billion in annual health, safety and social services were at stake, even though Medicaid and Medicare are currently mandatory spending programs under the law.

Dave Cortese, president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, addresses reporters at a news conference on Thursday Feb. 23, 2017. Dave Cortese, president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, addresses reporters at a news conference on Thursday Feb. 23, 2017. Photo: Jenna Lyons / The Chronicle / / Photo: Jenna Lyons / The Chronicle / / Image 1 of / 27 Caption Close Santa Clara County calls Trump’s sanctuary order ‘extortion’ 1 / 27 Back to Gallery

The number amounts to about 35 percent of county revenue, officials said.

County officials gathered in the basement of the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center on Thursday for a news conference denouncing the order as coercive, an overreach of Congress’ power over the federal purse strings, and the catalyst for a possible “massive and untenable public health crisis in the county.”

Officials estimate that from 20,000 to 50,000 immigrants are living illegally in Santa Clara County, which identifies itself as a sanctuary jurisdiction. San Jose, the county’s largest city and the 10th most populous in the nation, follows sanctuary city practices.

“If we do not take a stand now against this unlawful power grab by President Trump, there’s no telling what he might do next,” said Dave Cortese, president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. “In our opinion, extortion is extortion and coercion is coercion and that’s exactly what that kind of behavior is. And we won’t be bullied, we won’t be forced to abandon our core values. We won’t participate in politics of fear. That’s what this lawsuit is all about.”

The order, which appears to prioritize deportation of criminal offenders, adds that “we cannot faithfully execute the immigration laws of the United States if we exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement.” In that view, it also aims to target those who have abused public benefit programs or were judged a security threat at the discretion of an immigration officer.

“We’re going to strip federal grant money from the sanctuary states and cities that harbor illegal immigrants. The American people are no longer going to have to be forced to subsidize this disregard for our laws,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said on the day Trump signed the order.

The order includes a provision to produce a weekly list of “criminal actions committed by aliens” to emphasize the belief that sanctuary city policies in which law enforcement officials do not release people to federal immigration agents for deportation enable such behavior.

Trump has often mentioned crimes committed by immigrants living in the U.S. illegally as justification for his policies, particularly the July 2015 killing of Kathryn Steinle on San Francisco’s Embarcadero. She allegedly was shot by a Mexican immigrant freed from County Jail despite federal government attempts to deport him for a sixth time.

James Williams, Santa Clara County counsel, said the government will probably respond to the injunction motion in the coming weeks. A hearing on the motion is set for April 5.

“The order is a patently unconstitutional attempt to coerce the county and other state and local governments to participate in the Trump administration’s expanded immigration enforcement and deportation efforts,” Williams said. “This isn’t a liberal or conservative issue. This isn’t even mainly about immigration. This lawsuit is about preserving local control for every town, city and county in the United States.”

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno