In summary

This afternoon, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a “friend-of-the-court” brief in U.S. District Court, siding with San Francisco in its lawsuit against President Trump’s executive order to defund sanctuary cities.

In the case of San Francisco v. Trump, the City by the Bay just got itself a powerful new ally.

This afternoon, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a “friend-of-the-court” brief in U.S. District Court, siding with San Francisco in its lawsuit against President Trump’s executive order to defund sanctuary cities.

“California has a sovereign right and responsibility to protect the safety and the constitutional rights of its residents, including by adopting laws and policies that place appropriate limits on the ability of the federal government to use state and local resources for the enforcement of federal immigration policy,” the brief reads.

This isn’t Becerra’s first anti-Trump amicus. Last week, the state attorney general put in a good word on behalf of Santa Clara County in its own legal challenge against Trump’s executive order from last month.

Today, Seattle filed its own lawsuit against the President’s sanctuary city order as well.

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Ben covers housing policy and previously covered California politics and elections. Prior to these roles at CalMatters, he was a contributing writer for CalMatters reporting on the state's economy and...