The state of California will request a recent lawsuit filed by the Trump administration against the state over its “sanctuary” policies be moved from a federal court in Sacramento to one in San Francisco.
In documents filed Friday to Judge John Mendez of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, state Attorney General Xavier Becerra said his office intends to request the case be transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California next week.
“Plaintiff’s lawsuit seeks to define the parameters of the federal government’s immigration powers as they related to the state’s constitutional powers to enact and enforce laws concerning public safety. This precise issue is currently the subject of the state of California’s litigation against the federal government in the Northern District of California,” Becerra and state officials wrote in court filings.
Politico first reported California’s request Saturday.
Becerra Court Filing by Danny Chaitin on Scribd
Judge William Orrick of the North District of California is currently assigned to a case, filed by California in August, challenging the Trump administration’s crackdown on cities and jurisdictions that offer protections for people in the U.S. illegally.
Under the policy, revealed in July, cities and states are eligible to receive specific law enforcement grants from the Justice Department if they follow particular requirements regarding information given to federal immigration officials.
Last week, Orrick declined a request for a preliminary injunction from Becerra that would’ve blocked the Trump administration’s withholding of a law enforcement grant over California’s immigration policies.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the Justice Department’s lawsuit against the state of California on Wednesday, which challenges three state laws the Trump administration believes obstruct enforcement of federal immigration law.
The Trump administration believes the state laws should be nullified.
