Federal Court Rejects Administration Challenge to New York City Sanctuary Rules
A federal judge appointed by President Biden dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit against New York City’s sanctuary laws. The ruling allows the city to keep limiting cooperation with ICE, including refusing certain detention requests without a judicial warrant and a qualifying serious conviction. The judge held that the Tenth Amendment’s anti-commandeering doctrine prevents Washington from forcing local agencies to carry out federal immigration arrests.
Judge Ramón E. Reyes Jr., a Biden appointee, issued Thursday’s decision in Brooklyn, rejecting the Justice Department’s effort to override New York City’s limits on assisting federal immigration agents. The lawsuit, brought in July 2025 while Eric Adams was mayor, targeted policies in place since 2014.
Those rules bar police and jail staff from detaining people for ICE unless a court warrant and a serious or violent conviction exist. They also limit what city workers may disclose. Reyes relied on the Tenth Amendment and Printz v. United States, finding Washington cannot compel local officials to enforce federal immigration law.
The ruling may preserve New York City’s current limits on cooperation, affecting immigrants in custody, local police and jail staff, and federal agents who must locate people after release. It could reinforce local authority under anti-commandeering principles, while practical and political disputes over arrests and information sharing may continue. Officials and residents elsewhere could watch whether similar sanctuary policies face further legal challenges.