Politics

Supreme Court drops Trump’s ‘sanctuary city’ cases after Biden request

The US Supreme Court has dismissed three pending appeals on former President Donald Trump’s effort to withhold law enforcement grants from states and cities that refused to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, according to reports.

The high court acted shortly after the Biden administration, as well as state and city governments in New York and California, jointly asked it to dismiss the appeals, Fox News reported.

Attorneys for jurisdictions challenging the order in the three cases — which involve the Big Apple and San Francisco — said they agreed with the new administration that the cases should be dismissed.

Biden has rescinded Trump’s 2017 executive order that called on US agencies to withhold federal funds from the so-called sanctuary jurisdictions, many of which are governed by Democrats. Lower courts were divided on whether the policy was lawful.

Mexican deportees walk across the Gateway International Bridge into Mexico after being deported by U.S. immigration authorities on February 24, 2021 in Matamoros, Mexico.
Mexican deportees walk across the Gateway International Bridge into Mexico after being deported by U.S. immigration authorities on February 24, 2021 in Matamoros, Mexico. John Moore/Getty Images

Lower courts in New York and California had reached various conclusions on the Justice Department’s authority to withhold funds that Congress had authorized to assist police agencies, Fox News reported.

“We’re glad this issue has finally been put to rest,” San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said, according to the outlet.

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A group of migrants wearing T-shirts that read "Biden, please let us in" kneel and pray at the border crossing on March 2, 2021.
A group of migrants wearing T-shirts that read “Biden, please let us in” kneel and pray at the border crossing on March 2, 2021.Stringer/Pacific Coast News
A hole cut into Southern California's border fence with Mexico is seen on March 3, 2021.
A hole cut into Southern California’s border fence with Mexico is seen on March 3, 2021. US Customs and Border Protection
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott delivers an announcement in Montelongo's Mexican Restaurant on March 2, 2021.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott delivers an announcement in Montelongo’s Mexican Restaurant on March 2, 2021.Justin Rex/Lubbock Avalanche-Jou
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“Federal officials can do their job in San Francisco, just like anywhere else in the country. But we were not about to let our police, firefighters and nurses be commandeered and turned into the Trump administration’s deportation force,” Herrera said.

New York state Attorney General Letitia James said: “Local law enforcements’ ability to protect their jurisdictions should never be compromised to push an anti-immigrant agenda.

People kneel during a demonstration demanding clearer United States migration policies in at San Ysidro crossing port on March 2, 2021.
People kneel during a demonstration demanding clearer United States migration policies in at San Ysidro crossing port on March 2, 2021. Guillermo Arias/AFP via Getty Im

“We look forward to continuing to work with the administration to ensure state and localities never have to choose between protecting their autonomy and protecting the public’s safety,” she added, according to Fox News.

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Migrants approach the US border on Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville, Texas on March 2, 2021.
Migrants approach the US border on Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville, Texas on March 2, 2021.Sergio Flores/AFP via Getty Imag
This photo provided by the US Customs and Border Protection shows a workman repairing a hole cut into Southern California's border fence with Mexico on March 3, 2021.
This photo provided by the US Customs and Border Protection shows a workman repairing a hole cut into Southern California’s border fence with Mexico on March 3, 2021.US Customs and Border Protection
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The Justice Department declined to comment to the network.

With Post wires