Sacramento has hundreds of millions of federal funding at risk under Trump administration
Sacramento remains committed to not cooperating with President Donald Trump administration’s immigration agenda despite the risk of losing hundreds of million dollars in federal funding.
The city has joined several jurisdictions across the country in a lawsuit to stop an order directing the U.S. Department of Justice to withhold funding from “sanctuary jurisdictions.”
Sacramento’s potential federal funding at risk totals up to roughly $450 million, according to a recent city staff report. The majority of that funding — about $272 million — is for federally approved projects in the future. The city has already received notice that federal grants are likely to be withheld, according to a city news release.
“This is an assault on the constitutionality,” said Councilmember Eric Guerra on Tuesday. “We don’t have a king in the United States. Congress has already approved and appropriated these dollars, and that is what we’re fighting for.”
Such losses would worsen the city’s projected budget deficit for years to come, said Sacramento’s Finance Director Peter Coletto at a Feb. 25 City Council meeting. The city’s budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year is currently estimated at $44 million.
“Federal funding risks are really top of mind,” Coletto said at the meeting.
Sacramento expects roughly $175 million in “outstanding federal reimbursements” for the city’s public works, public safety and medical services, according to a news release. The police department also has more than $1.6 million in DOJ grant programs which are used for hiring officers, improving crime mapping and the acoustic gunfire detection system.
The city’s decision to join the lawsuit comes nearly one month after it was first filed by San Francisco and Santa Clara County in San Francisco federal court. The lawsuit came after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued an order to withhold federal funding until a review ensures “sanctuary jurisdictions” comply with federal immigration enforcement.
More than a dozen sanctuary jurisdictions including the cities of Seattle, Minneapolis and New Haven, have since joined the lawsuit and argue the Bondi policy is unconstitutional.
A sanctuary designation generally describes places that limit local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration efforts. Trump’s administration failed at a previous effort to withhold funding from such places during his first term.
Sacramento has a decadeslong history with its sanctuary status. In 1985, the City Council passed a resolution proclaiming the city a safe haven for refugees and prohibiting city employees from asking about individuals’ immigration status.
At the time, only seven other cities had passed a similar resolution.
In 2017, Sacramento voted to strengthen the 1985 resolution by making it punishable with fines.
“For 40 years, our city has been a safe haven for refugees fleeing hardship and persecution,” said Mayor Kevin McCarty in a statement. “It is the moral tradition of our nation and our city to protect immigrants and refugees. Sacramento will uphold this legacy.”
This story was originally published March 5, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
