March 22, 2017
The City of Richmond has filed a lawsuit today in the Federal District Court in San Francisco against President Donald Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, seeking to have declared unconstitutional an Executive Order issued by President Trump concerning “Sanctuary Jurisdictions.” The lawsuit alleges that Executive Order 13768, issued on January 25, 2017, is an unconstitutional action by the President as it provides unfettered discretion to the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security to take away all federal funds from “sanctuary jurisdictions” which they believe do not follow federal immigration law. The suit alleges that the President does not have authority under the Constitution or any Congressional act to restrict federal funds based on such an Executive Order.