A federal judge has ruled the Justice Department's attempt to cut some federal funding for sanctuary cities is unconstitutional.
In a case brought by the city of New York and seven states, District Judge Edgardo Ramos issued an injunction against a set of conditions the DOJ had looked to impose on federal grant money.
Last year, then-Attorney General Jeff Sesssions announced the department would withhold funds from municipalities that didn't cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Ramos ruled the DOJ violated the separation of powers in imposing those restrictions, because the grant money was allocated by an act of Congress, which didn't authorize such conditions.
The judge's decision follows similar rulings in cases brought by other municipalities. Mirroring those other rulings, Ramos also limited the scope of his injunction to the states that brought the case, rather than blocking the conditions nationally.
