A federal judge dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit challenging New York City’s sanctuary laws, rejecting the Department of Justice’s effort to overturn restrictions on local cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
U.S. District Judge Ramon Reyes Jr. in the Eastern District of New York found that the federal government lacked standing to challenge the city’s sanctuary policies, which DOJ argued were preempted by federal law.
“Even if the United States has standing — and it does not — its preemption claims fail,” Reyes wrote in a 25-page ruling.
Reyes said striking down the challenged provisions would not obligate New York City to enforce federal immigration laws but would prevent it from prohibiting its agencies and employees from using city resources to assist federal authorities.
Such assistance, including detaining individuals and sharing personal information, could violate state law, he said.
The judge also found that New York state law independently prohibits local officers from making arrests for civil immigration violations without judicial authorization, meaning invalidating the city’s restrictions would not provide the relief the Justice Department sought.
“And of course, there is nothing within federal law that obligates states to participate in federal immigration enforcement or compels states to comply therewith,” Reyes wrote.
“The United States’ preemption arguments amount to nothing more than a backdoor around the Tenth Amendment,” he added.
The Trump administration argued in its July 2025 lawsuit that New York City’s sanctuary policies violate the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause by obstructing federal immigration enforcement.
The DOJ argued the restrictions impede information-sharing, including release dates, court appearance dates, and custody status.
The city’s sanctuary policies date to 1989, when then-Mayor Edward Koch issued an executive order restricting cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
The DOJ argued the city’s refusal to honor most Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers forced federal agents to make arrests in communities rather than secure detention centers, increasing risks to officers and the public. According to the lawsuit, the city’s Department of Correction honored only 4% of ICE detainers in fiscal 2024.
The ruling came as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and more than 100 elected officials urged private parking garage and lot owners to deny ICE access to their properties as staging areas for immigration enforcement operations, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
The request followed last week’s shooting of Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old Dominican national, during an ICE enforcement operation in Manhattan’s Marble Hill neighborhood.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Belgal refused lawful orders to exit his vehicle before accelerating and striking two government vehicles. DHS said he then drove toward other officers, who opened fire because they believed their lives and the lives of others were in danger.
The lawmakers said ICE had used two bank parking lots on Northern Boulevard in Queens and a garage on Morton Street in Manhattan as staging areas for immigration operations, according to the Journal.
City law already restricts the use of municipal property for federal immigration enforcement, but those restrictions do not extend to privately owned parking lots and garages.
The appeal to private parking operators was backed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and dozens of other federal, state, and local elected officials.
“We will continue to uphold our local laws and use every tool at our disposal to protect New Yorkers from ICE’s abuses,” Mamdani said.
DOJ did not immediately respond to the Journal’s request for comment on the ruling.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.