A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit filed by the administration of President Donald Trump against the santuary laws of New York City, determining that the U.S. government cannot compel local authorities to cooperate in the enforcement of civil immigration laws.
The decision represents a judicial setback for the White House's strategy to involve cities and states in its deportation operations, and it upholds the restrictions that limit the collaboration of the Police and other municipal agencies with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The ruling was issued by Ramón E. Reyes Jr., Judge of the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of New York, based in Brooklyn, who concluded that the federal government lacked standing to bring the lawsuit and rejected its arguments that national laws took precedence over the challenged municipal provisions.
According to reported by The New York Times, the judge presented his findings in a 25-page ruling and noted that the Constitution protects state and local governments from attempts to compel them to allocate their own resources to fulfill federal responsibilities.
In his ruling, cited by Courthouse News, Reyes stated that no federal law compels states to participate in the national government's immigration enforcement operations.
The judge also considered that the arguments of the Trump administration aimed to circumvent the protections of the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which limits the federal government's ability to impose certain obligations on the states and their authorities.
"Even if the United States had legal standing—and it does not—its arguments regarding the supremacy of federal law fail," wrote Reyes, according to the coverage by the judicial media.
The ruling thus rejects the claim that municipal authorities must make their employees, facilities, and resources available to ICE to implement immigration measures.
What does the ruling mean for immigrants in New York?
New York's sanctuary laws limit the circumstances under which the Police and other municipal agencies can collaborate with federal immigration authorities.
Among other provisions, they restrict the detention of individuals based on administrative requests from ICE and the exchange of certain information regarding those in local custody.
According to Reuters, the judge explained that the federal administration could not challenge a municipal provision that prevents the police from detaining immigrants solely at the request of immigration authorities, because that practice is also prohibited by New York state law.
It also concluded that municipal regulations restricting the disclosure of release dates, locations, and other data related to the custody of immigrants do not contradict a federal obligation to share that information, as such an obligation does not exist in the terms presented by the Government.
The decision does not prohibit ICE from operating in New York nor does it prevent its agents from making immigration arrests on their own accord. Its scope focuses on the city’s authority to set limits on the participation of its workers and the use of municipal resources in those operations.
The Mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, praised the ruling and described it as a victory against the deportation policies of the Trump administration.
"The federal government went to court seeking to force New York City to turn its public servants into deportation agents and divert our resources toward enforcing ICE's cruel agenda. Today they lost," stated Mamdani in an official statement from the Mayor's Office.
The mayor stated that the resolution confirms that Washington cannot take over the functions of municipal workers to impose migration control tasks on them.
He also defended sanctuary laws as a mechanism for residents to access public services without fear that seeking help would make them targets for deportation.
For his part, Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, expressed gratitude for the court's decision and stated that it safeguards the ability of state and local authorities to enact their own regulations.
According to Courthouse News, neither the White House nor the Department of Homeland Security immediately responded to requests for comments regarding the ruling.
A lawsuit filed in 2025
The Department of Justice had filed the lawsuit in July 2025, arguing that New York's sanctuary policies hindered the work of federal agents and violated the supremacy of national law.
Among the government's objections were the restrictions on sharing information regarding release dates, court appearances, and the custody status of individuals who could be subject to immigration proceedings.
The city's sanctuary policies have a history dating back to 1989, during the administration of then-mayor Edward Koch, although their provisions have evolved over the decades.
The Trump administration has turned to the courts to challenge similar measures in other jurisdictions, as part of its campaign to enhance cooperation between local governments and federal immigration authorities.
According to The New York Times, federal courts have also rejected challenges to sanctuary policies in other cities and states, including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Colorado, and Minnesota.
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