U.S. District Judge Ramón E. Reyes Jr. dismissed the Trump administration's July 2025 lawsuit against New York City's sanctuary laws on October 15, 2026. Ruling in Brooklyn federal court, Reyes held that the federal government lacked legal standing and that the Tenth Amendment prevents the federal government from commandeering city workers to enforce civil immigration laws. Mayor Zohran Mamdani celebrated the ruling as a victory, which marks the latest in a series of federal court defeats for the administration's legal challenges to local sanctuary ordinances nationwide.
Dismissal and lack of standing
- ▪Judge Ramón E. Reyes Jr. ruled that the federal government lacked legal standing to challenge New York City's sanctuary laws shielding immigrants from mass deportation.
- ▪U.S. District Judge Ramón E. Reyes Jr. in Brooklyn dismissed the Trump administration's July 2025 lawsuit seeking to invalidate New York City's sanctuary laws on October 15, 2026.
Rulings on local cooperation duties
- ▪Judge Ramón E. Reyes Jr. held that any policy authority to allow local law enforcement officers to execute civil immigration arrests must come from Congress or state and local legislatures.
- ▪Judge Ramón E. Reyes Jr. ruled that federal law does not require state and local governments to share release dates, whereabouts, or custody information of immigrants with federal authorities.
- ▪Judge Ramón E. Reyes Jr. ruled that the Trump administration could not challenge New York City's bar on police detaining immigrants at federal request because state law already prohibits the practice.
Rulings on constitutional anticommandeering
- ▪Judge Ramón E. Reyes Jr. cited the Tenth Amendment anticommandeering doctrine, ruling that the Constitution protects municipalities from being compelled to use local resources to enforce federal civil immigration laws.
- ▪Judge Ramón E. Reyes Jr. stated that enjoining New York City's sanctuary policies would result in unlawful commandeering of state and local resources and violate federalism principles.
Provisions of New York City sanctuary laws
- ▪New York City sanctuary laws prevent local law enforcement officers from honoring civil immigration detainer requests from ICE without a judicial warrant.
- ▪New York City's sanctuary statutes prohibit municipal agencies from utilizing city resources or subjecting employees to Homeland Security supervision primarily for immigration enforcement.
Dismissals of similar sanctuary challenges
- ▪U.S. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit challenging Boston's sanctuary law in Massachusetts federal court in 2026.
- ▪Federal judges have dismissed similar Trump administration challenges to local sanctuary policies in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Colorado, Minnesota, New Jersey, Illinois, and Rochester, New York.
New York debate on sanctuary policies
- ▪Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman stated during an October 13, 2026 debate that local cooperation with ICE enabled his county to remove over 2,000 migrants with criminal records.
- ▪New York Governor Kathy Hochul and challenger Bruce Blakeman clashed during an October 13, 2026 debate over state sanctuary policies following a Bronx ICE shooting that endangered a 5-year-old child.
California lawsuits against the administration
- ▪California Attorney General Rob Bonta stated in August 2026 that his office's lawsuits against the Trump administration saved California over $200 billion by reversing federal funding cuts.
- ▪California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed his 100th lawsuit against the Trump administration on October 15, 2026, challenging ICE arrests conducted at or near state courthouses.
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