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Back in February and March of 2018 I wrote about the issue of sanctuary cities and states.[i]  In particular the then US Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, sued California over its California Values Act.[ii]  That law made it illegal for state and local law enforcement officers to provide federal agents with basic information on individuals who are in custody and prevents state or local resources from being used to facilitate federal deportation raids.

The Federal District Court in California upheld the law and the Ninth Circuit also upheld the law.  The US Government sought certiorari to the Supreme Court.  The Supreme Court considered the request in January, 2020 and then listed it on their conference calendar eight times before yesterday deciding to deny the petition.[iii]

All we know if that Justices Thomas and Alito wrote that they would have granted the petition.  We don’t know what other Justices said, but the end result is that the California law stands and local governments in California may not assist Federal agencies in immigration matters.

While not a complete approval of sanctuary cities, it is certainly a big step in supporting the concept.

[i] https://communities.nysba.org/blogs/hubert-g-plummer-esq/2018/02/06/16-states-back-chicago-suit-against-sessions; https://communities.nysba.org/blogs/hubert-g-plummer-esq/2018/03/07/ag-sessions-sues-california-over-immigration-enfor; https://communities.nysba.org/blogs/hubert-g-plummer-esq/2018/03/28/follow-up-on-ag-sessions-v-california

[ii] https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4403892/Justice-Dept-s-Suit-Against-California.pdf

[iii] https://www.scotusblog.com/2020/06/court-turns-down-governments-sanctuary-state-petition/

The author[s] is solely responsible for this blog submission.  It does not represent the position of the New York State Bar Association or its Committee.