A federal judge placed a nationwide hold Tuesday on President Trump’s order to strip funds from municipal governments that refuse to cooperate fully with immigration agents. The case was the first legal test of Trump’s order, which has left cities and counties across the nation fearful of losing massive amounts of federal funds. The ruling flatly rejected a last-minute bid by a lawyer for the Justice Department to downplay the significance and reach of Trump’s order. That “new interpretation” of the sanctuary order was “not legally plausible,” the judge said. But Trump’s order can be read as requiring states and municipalities to honor such detainer requests to avoid being designated sanctuary jurisdictions, Orrick said.

Source: Los Angeles Times April 25, 2017 20:15 UTC