Late Friday, a federal judge extended a block of the Trump administration’s efforts to freeze federal funding to more cities, including Albuquerque, that restrict law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration efforts.
Judge William Orrick in San Francisco extended an earlier preliminary injunction barring the federal government from withholding funds or conditioning federal funding on having policies in place to assist in federal immigration efforts.
Earlier this year, President Trump issued an executive order directing the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to withhold federal funds from local governments that do not assist or cooperate with federal immigration raids or investigations in their communities.
The City of Santa Fe was among the first in the country to challenge the local funding ban in court alongside San Francisco and Seattle. Orrick issued an injunction protecting those cities from cuts in April, but Albuquerque was not one of those initial plaintiff cities.
Following that initial decision, 30 additional cities and counties, including Albuquerque, petitioned the court to extend the same protection to them. Orrick’s order on Friday did just that.
Both Albuquerque and Santa Fe have enacted immigrant-friendly policies prohibiting direct cooperation between local police and federal immigration officials, though neither city has defined itself as a “sanctuary city” for immigrants.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, who is running for reelection in November, has been increasingly vocal about opposing federal policies against mostly Democratic-led cities. Earlier this year, Keller issued an executive order directing city employees to assist residents in identifying local immigration enforcement. Last week, he wrote a letter to U.S> Attorney General Pam Bondi challenging federal cuts to Albuquerque.
City officials estimate that federal freezes could tie up as much as $68 million, or about 5-percent, from the city’s just-passed budget.
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