The lawsuit, which has not yet been filed, accuses the administration of making decisions that 鈥渋llegally harm cities鈥� with sanctuary policies.
鈥淎s a sanctuary city, we are focused on making Portland a safe, welcoming place for all community members,鈥� said Mayor Keith Wilson in a press release on Friday. 鈥淲e object to the federal government attempting to defund public safety, infrastructure and other critical services in our city.鈥�
Wilson said the city is obligated to uphold its values and state law. 鈥淲e are prepared to make that case in court.鈥�
The lawsuit is led by San Francisco and will be filed in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California on Friday. New Haven, Connecticut, Santa Clara County, California, and King County, Washington, have joined Portland plaintiffs in this case.
Shortly after being sworn in Wednesday as Attorney General, Pam Bondi issued a memo calling on the Department of Justice to halt federal funding to cities that refused to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. The DOJ went further Thursday against Chicago, Cook County and the state of Illinois over their sanctuary laws.
This crackdown informed today鈥檚 lawsuit, according to the mayor鈥檚 office.
鈥淢emos from the U.S. Department of Justice have instructed the agency鈥檚 staff to investigate and prosecute state and local officials in sanctuary jurisdictions who do not actively assist in immigration enforcement,鈥� a press release from Wilson鈥檚 office reads. 鈥淭hat threat was realized this week when the federal government filed a lawsuit challenging sanctuary laws in the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois.鈥�
Oregon was the first state to pass a sanctuary law , which prohibits local and state law enforcement and government from helping federal officials with immigration enforcement. The state doubled down on the law in 2021 with the Sanctuary Promise Act, which went further to define illegal immigration enforcement and added a statewide hotline to report sanctuary law violations.
Wilson reaffirmed this policy in to the Portland City Council, pledging to uphold the city鈥檚 sanctuary laws under the new presidential administration.
According to Portland City Attorney Robert Taylor, the city is counting on more than $10 million in DOJ grants to support projects, like the Portland Police Bureau鈥檚 body camera and gun violence deterrence programs. That funding has been awarded to Portland, Taylor said at an afternoon press conference, but it has not yet been handed over by the federal government.
鈥淭he federal administration is jeopardizing critical programs that our community depends upon, and we are filing this lawsuit because we are being asked to choose between our authority to use our local funding for local policing and these federal grants that fund critical programs,鈥� said Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney at the press conference. 鈥淭his should not be a binary, this should not be a choice.鈥�
Oregon has fought the Trump administration over immigration enforcement in the past 鈥� and won. In 2018, Oregon and Portland sued the Trump administration for freezing $6 million in federal grants due to the state鈥檚 sanctuary laws. A federal judge, releasing Oregon鈥檚 grant funding.