Judge extends a prior injunction, ruling that the administration’s actions are an unconstitutional and coercive overreach.
A U.S. District Judge has issued a new order that expands an injunction preventing the federal government from withholding funds from a group of cities and counties designated as “sanctuary jurisdictions.”
The ruling by Judge William H. Orrick of the Northern District of California extends the scope of a preliminary injunction issued in April 2025 and applies it to dozens of new plaintiffs who joined the lawsuit.
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The order directly addresses the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), ruling that conditions placed on Continuum of Care (CoC) and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) programs are impermissible. The court found these conditions to be an implementation of previously enjoined executive orders and agency directives that sought to link federal funding to local immigration enforcement cooperation.
In his decision, Judge Orrick reaffirmed the court’s earlier conclusion that the federal government’s actions were likely unconstitutional.
The ruling cites violations of the separation of powers and the Tenth Amendment, noting that the administration’s policy sought to “coerce” local governments by threatening to withhold federal funding. The court found that HUD’s attempts to impose immigration-related conditions on grants for homelessness and economic development lacked a sufficient connection, or “nexus,” to immigration enforcement.
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The order specifically references a letter from HUD Secretary Scott Turner and another from General Deputy Assistant Secretary Claudette Fernandez, which the court stated confirmed the agency’s intent to incorporate the language of Executive Order 14,218 into its grant agreements. The judge also cited evidence from one plaintiff, the City of Petaluma, which received an email from HUD questioning its grant application based on its alleged failure to comply with the executive order.
As a result of the ruling, the defendants, including federal officials, are enjoined from withholding or conditioning federal funds based on the challenged executive orders and related directives. The injunction is now identical for all plaintiffs in the case, protecting their access to federal funds for a variety of critical needs without altering their local policies.
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