In a lawsuit that places San Francisco center stage in the legal pushback to President Donald Trump’s executive actions, the city announced Friday that it will sue the administration over its recent immigration crackdowns.
The lawsuit challenges the Republican president on multiple fronts. It accuses him of violating the Constitution in his Jan. 20 directive titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” which threatens federal funding cuts to sanctuary cities such as San Francisco. It also contests a set of U.S. Department of Justice memos that seek to impose criminal penalties on local and state officials who don’t comply with the president’s immigration plans.
The outcome of the lawsuit could carry significant consequences for not only the future of immigration policy but for the city’s coffers. San Francisco is facing the possibility of layoffs of city workers amid an $867 million budget deficit over the next two years — a shortfall that could be exacerbated if Trump withholds federal funds, according to local officials.
“This is the federal government illegally asserting a right it does not have, telling cities how to use their resources, and commandeering local law enforcement,” San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said in a statement. “This is the federal government coercing local officials to bend to their will or face defunding or prosecution.”
Chiu — an outspoken critic of Trump during his time as a state assemblymember — called the president’s policies “illegal and authoritarian,” stating that, as local officials, “we have a right to do our jobs without threats and interference from the federal government.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Thursday, the Trump administration put its threats against local and state officials to the test, suing Chicago and Illinois for allegedly not following its immigration policies.
San Francisco’s lawsuit, which will be filed in the Northern District of California, is led by Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti. Portland, Ore., New Haven, Conn., and King County, Wash., have also joined the lawsuit.
If the suit is successful, San Francisco may become a roadblock to the White House’s goal of overhauling the country’s immigration system. Trump has promised “mass deportations” and an end to birthright citizenship; the latter has already been held up in court by federal judges. Other Trump directives, including a freeze on federal funding, have also been halted by judges.
Friday’s announcement of the lawsuit comes after San Francisco officials recently affirmed its status as a sanctuary city. The sanctuary city guidelines have been in place since 1989 and generally prohibit city employees from assisting federal immigration officials.
The idea, its advocates assert, is to encourage undocumented immigrants to come forward in matters such as a local police investigation without the fear that they may be asked about citizenship status. Local law enforcement will work with federal officials if an individual is involved in a violent crime.
Late last month, the board unanimously passed a nonbinding resolution authored by Mission district Supervisor Jackie Fielder supporting its sanctuary city policies.
In an interview, Fielder said the president’s recent maneuvers have struck fear into residents of her district.
“The Trump administration wants to see cities like San Francisco roll back our sanctuary city policy that has stood for 35 years,” she said. “And we’re not going back … I went to a school the other day, and half the kids did not come to school.”
A broad swath of local officials — including Mayor Daniel Lurie, the sheriff, the police chief, and members of the board — also made remarks at a Jan. 28 rally in a symbolic rejection of Trump’s immigration clampdown.
During his first term in office, Trump tried to withhold funding from sanctuary cities but failed after a lawsuit from San Francisco’s former City Attorney Dennis Herrera. Experts have told The Standard the president may try to circumvent this legal precedent by having Congress put stipulations on federal funding.