Appeals court limits once-nationwide sanctuary cities injunction to Chicago

The federal appeals court in Chicago temporarily limited Tuesday an injunction that tied Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ hands when it comes to so-called sanctuary city policies.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals limited to Chicago what had once been a nationwide injunction blocking Sessions from applying new conditions to grant money as he tries to force cities to cooperate with immigration authorities.

The limitation will be in effect until the full appeals court can weigh in on whether the injunction should apply nationwide, according to the court’s order. Arguments are set for Sept. 6.

U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber handed down the injunction last September. The grant at issue is the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, used by local governments for law enforcement needs like police cruisers, body cameras and community programs aimed at reducing violence.

Leinenweber’s ruling stopped Sessions from attaching two new conditions to the grant. One of them would require the city to give the feds, when requested, a 48-hour heads up of the scheduled release date and time “of an alien in the jurisdiction’s custody.”

Another requires federal access to “any correctional or detention facility in order to meet with an alien … and inquire as to his or her right to be or remain in the United States.”

The Justice Department has said it received nearly 1,000 applications for more than $250 million but has doled none of it out since Leinenweber handed down his injunction.