Federal Judges Block Trump Funding Cuts Sanctuary Cities, Rule Against Alien Enemies Act Deportations

Several federal judges have recently pushed back against the Trump administration's immigration enforcement tactics. U.S. District Judge William Orrick issued a preliminary injunction blocking the administration's efforts to withhold federal funding from sanctuary jurisdictions, warning against circumventing court orders and emphasizing the unlawfulness of coercive funding threats. Meanwhile, in cases involving the Alien Enemies Act (AEA), judges in Washington, D.C., Colorado, and Texas have challenged the administration's use of the AEA to detain and deport migrants without due process, ruling that the criteria for invoking the Act, such as an invasion by a foreign nation, have not been met. Additionally, a federal judge in New Jersey demanded the Trump administration provide legal precedents for its attempt to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist, under a law related to adverse foreign policy consequences. These rulings collectively highlight judicial resistance to the administration's expansive and contested immigration policies and demand greater legal justification for its actions.