Judge dismisses Trump administration lawsuit against a western NY city's sanctuary city policies

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A federal judge has dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit challenging the city of Rochester, New York's practices as a “sanctuary city.”

Judge Frank Geraci ruled on Thursday that the lawsuit became moot when the city made changes to its policies, making them stronger, after the lawsuit was filed. He gave the Justice Department a month to amend its lawsuit to reflect the changes.

The administration sued the western New York city in April, claiming its rules for city employees violate the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution by barring them from assisting in federal immigration enforcement.

The lawsuit was filed after Rochester Mayor Malik Evans said local police officers who had aided U.S. Border Patrol agents at a March traffic stop appeared to have violated city policy.

“The challenged law and policies are designed to deliberately impede federal immigration officers’ ability to carry out their responsibilities in those jurisdictions,” the Justice Department wrote in the lawsuit, which sought to prevent the city from enforcing them.

But in Thursday's ruling, Geraci said the 2017 policies that were targeted were no longer in effect, and that even though the versions approved in August reinforced the city's self-designation as a sanctuary city, the lawsuit could not move forward as filed.

He said the administration could file an amended complaint by Dec. 19, “presuming that the United States wishes to challenge the 2025 amendments on the same grounds as the 2017 directives.”

The Justice Department did not immediately say whether it would file an amended complaint.

“The Department is in the process of reviewing the decision," a spokesman said via email Friday. "We will continue to enforce federal immigration law and work to eradicate harmful sanctuary policies across the country that are putting the American people at risk.”

Rochester became a Sanctuary City in 1986 and reaffirmed the designation in 2017 during President Donald Trump’s first term.

"The City intends to continue to fully comply with federal and state laws while vigorously preserving our local autonomy and rights under the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” Evans said in a statement.

The city sits less than 10 miles from Lake Ontario, which straddles the U.S.-Canadian border.