AP— A judge ruled late Friday the Trump administration cannot deny funding to Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and 30 other cities and counties because of policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration efforts.

US District Judge William Orrick in San Francisco extended a preliminary injunction blocking the administration from cutting off or conditioning the use of federal funds for so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions. His earlier order protected more than a dozen other cities and counties, including San Francisco, Portland and Seattle.

An email to the White House late Friday was not immediately returned. In his ruling, Orrick said the administration had offered no opposition to an extended injunction except to say the first injunction was wrong. It has appealed the first order.

Orrick also blocked the administration from imposing immigration-related conditions on two particular grant programs.

The Trump administration has ratcheted up pressure on sanctuary communities as it seeks to make good on President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to remove millions of people in the country illegally.

Members of immigration advocacy groups react as Los Angeles City Council votes to enact an ordinance to prohibit city resources from being used for immigration enforcement inside Los Angeles City Hall on November 19, 2024.

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One executive order issued by Trump directs Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to withhold federal money from sanctuary jurisdictions. Another order directs every federal agency to ensure that payments to state and local governments do not “abet so-called ‘sanctuary’ policies that seek to shield illegal aliens from deportation.”

The cities and counties that sued said billions of dollars were at risk.

Orrick, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, said the executive orders and the “executive actions that have parroted them” were an unconstitutional “coercive threat.”

In May, the Department of Homeland Security published a list of more than 500 “sanctuary jurisdictions,” saying each one would receive formal notification that the government had deemed them noncompliant. It also said it would inform them if they were believed to be in violation of any federal criminal statutes.

Members of the NYPD crime scene unit collect the victim's gun, a backpack, a wallet, and a jacket at the scene where an off-duty border patrol agent is wounded in a shooting at Fort Washington Park in Manhattan, New York, United States, on July 20, 2025. A crime scene is present Sunday morning, and a large police presence with crime scene tape is visible inside the park underneath the George Washington Bridge. Several law enforcement officers converge on the scene. Crime scene investigators with the NYPD collect the victim's gun. A backpack, wallet, and jacket are also collected at the scene. The gun is placed in a weapon evidence box, while the other belongings are placed in evidence bags.

Off Duty Border Patrol Agent Wounded In A Shooting At Fort Washington Park Near The George Washington Bridge In New York City, Manhattan, New York, United States - 20 Jul 2025

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The list was later removed from the department’s website after critics noted it included localities that have actvely supported the administration’s tough immigration policies.

The Justice Department has also sued New York, Los Angeles and other cities over their sanctuary policies.

There is no strict definition for sanctuary cities, but the terms generally describe places that limit cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE enforces immigration laws nationwide but seeks help from state and local authorities to identify immigrants wanted for deportation and hold them for federal officers.(CNN)