New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, California and other places that have such policies have seen increased activity this year by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, which has diverted agents from the southern border to assist with arrests in some areas.
The agency has also issued subpoenas to law enforcement authorities in sanctuary jurisdictions seeking information on immigrants in their custody, and its acting director, Matthew T. Albence, has denounced the policies in sharply worded statements as threatening public safety.
The Second Circuit ruling, by a unanimous three-judge panel and written by Judge Reena Raggi, reversed a lower court judge’s decision, and found that the federal government had the discretion to impose conditions when distributing grant money.
The appellate opinion, which applies only to the jurisdictions that filed the suit, noted that the Supreme Court had repeatedly observed that the federal government has power over states where immigration policy is concerned.
Judge Raggi, who wrote in her opinion that the case involved “several of the most divisive issues confronting our country,” was appointed to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan and elevated to the appeals court by President George W. Bush. Also on the panel were Judge Ralph K. Winter Jr., who was appointed to the Second Circuit by Mr. Reagan, and Judge José A. Cabranes, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton.
The case was brought by New York and several other states after the Justice Department announced that it would withhold grant money from localities that denied federal immigration authorities access to jails, among other conditions.
Judge Edgardo Ramos of Federal District Court in Manhattan ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in 2018, saying that the Trump administration did not have the “lawful authority” to impose such conditions on funding.
Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/26/nyregion/sanctuary-cities-funding.html
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