This case is a response to efforts by the Trump administration to strip law enforcement funding from “sanctuary” cities and states.
The State of Oregon and the City of Portland filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon on November 9, 2018. Represented by the Oregon Attorney General and the Portland City Attorney’s Office, they sued President Trump and the U.S. Attorney General under the United States Constitution and the Declaratory Judgment Act. They claimed that immigration-related conditions on federal funding for law enforcement violated the Spending Clause and the Tenth Amendment. They sought declaratory relief, a writ of mandamus, and an injunction, prohibiting the federal government from imposing immigration-related conditions on the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) program, which provides support for local law enforcement. The case was assigned to Judge Michael McShane.
The plaintiffs stated that they were unlawfully deprived of more than $2 million of federal funding for fiscal year 2017 due to their non-acquiescence in the immigration conditions imposed on the Byrne JAG program. They expected to be similarly deprived in FY 2018. They alleged that the federal government had imposed three unlawful conditions on FY 2017 Byrne JAG funds, requiring grant recipients to:
- comply with 8 U.S.C. § 1373 (which requires local governments to allow their employees to share their citizenship and immigration status information with federal authorities);
- give the federal government 48 hours’ notice prior to releasing arrestees; and
- permit federal immigration officials to access any correctional or detention facility to meet with suspected undocumented immigrants.
The plaintiffs further alleged that the Trump administration had imposed similar but more intrusive conditions on FY 2018 funding: local governments were additionally required to comply with 8 U.S.C. § 1644; were required to answer questions regarding their compliance with the two statutes; and were required to certify that they would not violate 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a), which forbids the harboring or concealment of undocumented immigrants.
The plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on Nov. 21, 2018, adding information related to another sanctuary city case that Oregon was involved in. As a result of a preliminary injunction in that case (
City of Evanston et al. v. Sessions), Oregon was provided with an award notice for FY 2017’s Byrne JAG program. However, the plaintiffs pointed out in the amended complaint that the federal government had yet to process that award or disburse any funds, and the plaintiffs still believed that they would be deprived of FY 2018 funds.
On March 5, 2019, the Trump administration filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim and for lack of jurisdiction; the plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment on April 8, 2019. On August 7, the court denied the federal government’s motion to dismiss, and partly granted the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment. It held that Sections 1373 and 1644 violated the Tenth Amendment, such that the federal government could not withhold funds based on those statutes. The plaintiffs were “therefore entitled to a writ of mandamus compelling distribution of their FY 2017 and FY 2018 funds.” 406 F. Supp. 3d 940. The writ of mandamus and accompanying injunction were issued on August 29, 2019. The court also awarded costs to the plaintiffs, in the amount of $420, on October 24, 2019.
On October 4, 2019, the federal government appealed the case (Ninth Circuit docket number 19-35843). The Ninth Circuit ordered mediation and stayed the appeal in October 2019. As of December 2020, the appeal is still stayed and mediation continues.
Sam Kulhanek - 03/06/2019
Bogyung Lim - 07/25/2020
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