A GROWING NUMBER OF BAY AREA jurisdictions, including Marin County and the cities of Berkeley, Palo Alto, Santa Rosa, and Petaluma, have joined a nationwide lawsuit led by San Francisco and Santa Clara County challenging President Donald Trump’s administration’s actions targeting sanctuary jurisdictions.
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said Wednesday that 34 new cities and counties — including eight from the Bay Area — have joined the litigation, which now includes 50 jurisdictions nationwide. The amended complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, argues that the federal government’s attempts to penalize sanctuary cities violate the U.S. Constitution.
“As bad as they want to, the federal government cannot commandeer our local law enforcement,” Chiu said in a statement. “Tearing families apart and strong-arming local officials with threats of defunding or prosecution does nothing to make our country safer. The Trump Administration’s actions are illegal and authoritarian, and we believe they will continue to be found unconstitutional and unenforceable.”
The lawsuit, City and County of San Francisco, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., takes aim at several executive orders issued by the Trump administration. One order instructs federal agencies to ensure that payments do not support jurisdictions with sanctuary policies. Another threatens vague “consequences,” including defunding, for local governments that decline to participate in federal immigration enforcement.
Marin County, one of the newest Bay Area plaintiffs, said the federal government is overstepping its bounds.
At a time of heightened fear in our communities, we will continue to resist attempts to bully counties and cities out of implementing policies that have been proven to advance community well-being and public safety.
avita Narayan, chief assistant county counsel for Santa Clara County
“This is about protecting the values and priorities of Marin County residents,” said Marin County Counsel Brian Washington. “The federal government cannot coerce local jurisdictions into doing its job through illegal threats to critical funding. We’re standing up for our constitutional rights — and for our community.”
Mary Sackett, president of the Marin County Board of Supervisors, said, “Joining this lawsuit helps protect the county’s critical federal funding. We’re proud to stand in solidarity with local governments across the country defending our rights to govern locally and uphold public safety without fear or intimidation.”
Other Bay Area jurisdictions named in the amended complaint include Richmond, Menlo Park, and Rohnert Park.
“Local governments across the country are asserting their well-established constitutional right to use local resources for local priorities,” said Kavita Narayan, chief assistant county counsel for Santa Clara County. “At a time of heightened fear in our communities, we will continue to resist attempts to bully counties and cities out of implementing policies that have been proven to advance community well-being and public safety.”
The plaintiffs argue the Trump Administration’s actions violate the 10th Amendment, the Spending Clause, separation of powers, and the 5th Amendment’s due process protections. The suit is supported in part by the Public Rights Project, a nonprofit that partners with local governments on civil rights litigation.
The legal action builds on previous litigation during Trump’s first term, when courts — including the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — ruled that the administration’s efforts to tie federal funding to immigration enforcement compliance were unconstitutional. In those rulings, courts upheld San Francisco and Santa Clara County’s compliance with federal law and reaffirmed local governments’ authority to limit cooperation with federal immigration agencies.
On April 24, U.S. District Judge William Orrick issued a preliminary injunction barring the Trump Administration from withholding funds from jurisdictions based on their sanctuary policies. The court later clarified the order to prevent new attempts by the administration to impose similar conditions through subsequent executive actions and agency directives.
Trump has repeatedly defended his stance, arguing that sanctuary cities endanger the public and undermine federal authority.
“No more Sanctuary Cities! They protect the Criminals, not the Victim. They are disgracing our Country, and are being mocked all over the World. Working on papers to withhold all Federal Funding for any City or State that allows these Death Traps to exist!!!” Trump wrote in a post on X in April.
The U.S. Department of Justice, under Attorney General Pamela Bondi, has filed separate lawsuits against multiple jurisdictions, including Los Angeles, asserting that sanctuary policies interfere with the federal government’s immigration enforcement responsibilities and violate the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution.
The post Bay Area jurisdictions expand legal fight against Trump sanctuary crackdown appeared first on Local News Matters.