City & Cnty. of S.F. v. Sessions

349 F. Supp. 3d 924
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedOctober 5, 2018
DocketCase No. 17-cv-04642-WHO; Case No. 17-cv-04701-WHO
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 349 F. Supp. 3d 924 (City & Cnty. of S.F. v. Sessions) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City & Cnty. of S.F. v. Sessions, 349 F. Supp. 3d 924 (N.D. Cal. 2018).

Opinion

William H. Orrick, United States District Judge

INTRODUCTION

In fiscal year 2017, defendants Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III and the Department of Justice (collectively, the "DOJ") announced that applicants for federal grants under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant ("Byrne JAG") program would need to satisfy three new conditions for funding directed at state and local governments that have adopted so-called "sanctuary city" statutes and ordinances. The conditions require that grant recipients (i) provide the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency ("ICE") access to their correctional facilities for immigration enforcement purposes, (ii) provide notice to ICE of the release date for detainees, and (iii) certify their compliance with 8 U.S.C. § 1373, a statute which prohibits state and local governments from restricting information-sharing *934with the Department of Homeland Security.

These new conditions have sparked litigation around the country. See, e.g. , City of Philadelphia v. Sessions , Case No. 17-cv-03894; City of Chicago v. Sessions , Case No. 17-cv-05720; United States v. California , Case No. 18-cv-490-JAM; City of Los Angeles v. Sessions , Case No. 17-cv-07215-R. In the two separate, related actions captioned above, the State of California and the City and County of San Francisco challenge the conditions requiring access, notice and compliance with Section 1373, as well as the constitutionality of Section 1373.

DOJ has lost each time these issues have been raised thus far. It continues to withhold grant funding to six states and several local jurisdictions, including California and San Francisco, which it believes do not comply with the Byrne JAG program conditions for fiscal year 2017. California requests that I enjoin DOJ from imposing the conditions, award the State the grants for which it is eligible, and declare that certain California laws identified by the State comply with the Section 1373. Alternatively, it seeks declaratory judgment finding Section 1373 unconstitutional on its face. Similarly, San Francisco requests that I enjoin enforcement of the conditions, issue declaratory judgment that San Francisco's sanctuary city laws comply with Section 1373, and issue an injunction restraining the DOJ from withholding Byrne JAG funding to San Francisco because of Section 1373. Both ask that the scope of the injunction be nationwide. DOJ responds with its own motions for summary judgment, essentially urging that I reject the requests of California and San Francisco.

In agreement with every court that has looked at these issues, I find that: the challenged conditions violate the separation of powers; Section 1373 is unconstitutional; the Attorney General exceeds the Spending Power in violation of the United States Constitution by imposing the challenged conditions; the challenged conditions are arbitrary and capricious; California's and San Francisco's laws comply with Section 1373 as construed in this Order; California is deserving of the mandamus relief it seeks; and both parties are entitled to a permanent injunction. Because the requisites for a nationwide injunction are met as a result of the unconstitutionality of Section 1373 and the uniform effect of DOJ's conditions on Byrne JAG grantees around the country, I will follow the lead of the district court in City of Chicago and issue a nationwide injunction but stay its nationwide effect until the Ninth Circuit is able to address it in the normal course on appeal.

BACKGROUND

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

A. Section 1373 of the Immigration and Nationality Act

The Immigration and Nationality Act ("INA") granted the Executive Branch, through its Department of Homeland Security ("DHS"), DOJ, and other agencies, "broad, undoubted power over the subject of immigration and the status of aliens." Arizona v. United States , 567 U.S. 387, 394, 132 S.Ct. 2492, 183 L.Ed.2d 351 (2012). The INA allows the Attorney General or Secretary of Homeland Security to order the removal of certain classes of immigrants from the United States. See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1227(a), 1228. The Attorney General is directed to take certain detainees into custody pending removal proceedings once they are released from state or local custody. See 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c)(1). To enforce the immigration laws, Executive Branch agencies exercise independent *935discretion; the INA also gives agencies tools to encourage cooperation with state and local offices to support federal policy objectives. See, e.g. , 8 U.S.C. § 1357(g) (authorizing state and local officers to perform functions of a federal immigration officer); 8 U.S.C. § 1324(c) (authorizing state and local officers to make arrests for INA violations); 8 U.S.C. § 1252c (authorizing state and local officers to make arrests for unlawful reentry); Homan Decl. ¶ 36 (SF Dkt. No. 113-2) (discussing Immigration and Customs Enforcement's cooperation with state and local officers to provide uniformed presence in support of enforcement efforts).

Relevant to the present motions for summary judgment, 8 U.S.C. § 1373 prohibits restricting the communication of certain information between federal, state, and local governments. It states:

(a) In General.

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349 F. Supp. 3d 924, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-cnty-of-sf-v-sessions-cand-2018.