Judge who blocked Trump from cutting funding to sanctuary cities has deep ties to Democratic Party
The judge has also spoken at events in support of former Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama
By Peter Pinedo Fox News
Published April 24, 2025 6:05pm EDT
An Obama-appointed federal judge in California who issued a ruling blocking the Trump administration from cutting funding to sanctuary cities has deep financial ties to the Democratic Party, records indicate.
The judge has also spoken at events in support of former Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama and held leadership roles on committees to elect Obama and John Kerry.
Judge William Orrick of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a ruling on Thursday that said President Donald Trump’s executive orders against sanctuary cities are unconstitutional.
Orrick said that Trump’s orders instructing Attorney General Pam Bondi and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to withhold federal funds from sanctuary cities and counties that do not cooperate with federal immigration law would violate the Constitution’s separation of powers principles and the Spending Clause, as well as the Fifth and 10th Amendments.
The judge said Trump's orders — titled "Protecting the American People Against Invasion" and "Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders" — are "unconstitutionally vague and violate due process" and "impose coercive condition intended to commandeer local officials into enforcing federal immigration practices and law."
Orrick wrote that "the threat to withhold funding causes them irreparable injury in the form of budgetary uncertainty, deprivation of constitutional rights, and undermining trust between the Cities and Counties and the communities they serve."
According to donation records stored in the Federal Election Commission database, Orrick, who was nominated by Obama in 2012, has donated $113,600 to Democratic candidates and committees throughout the years.
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