The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear the administration’s challenge to California’s main sanctuary city law protecting illegal immigrants, dealing a significant blow to President Trump’s hopes of forcing jurisdictions to cooperate with ICE.
The justices did not offer comment on their decision, though two — Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. — said they wanted to hear the case. It takes four justices to put a case on the court’s calendar.
By declining to hear the case the court left in place a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld California’s SB54, a law enacted in 2017 in response to Mr. Trump’s election, that prohibits state and local authorities from cooperating with federal immigration efforts.
SB54 was, at the time, the most far-reaching state sanctuary policy, along with a couple other measures that also banned private businesses from allowing immigration authorities access to non-public areas and inserted state officials into inspections of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities.
In the years since they took effect, ICE says cooperation with California jurisdictions has plummeted, criminals have been set free, and even things like gang cooperation or stopping drunk drivers has been hindered by the ban on communications.
State officials, though, say the law has been a success in making illegal immigrants feel more welcome by reducing their risk of deportation.
