M E M O R A N D U M

To: You, Associate Counsel, Bloom County Board of Supervisors

From: Bloom County Board of Supervisors

Re: Sanctuary Jurisdictions

Hi there. We've got a constitutional challenge we are likely to file soon and I need your help. Here's the story:

Under 8 U.S.C. 1373, state and local governments "may not prohibit, or in any way restrict, any government entity or official from sending to, or receiving from, the Immigration and Naturalization Service information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual." You should assume that Congress has the ability to adopt 1373 pursuant to its power to establish "uniform rules of naturalization" under Article I, Section 8.

In response to state and local government policies that forbid their employees from assisting in the enforcement of federal immigration law or sharing information about individuals in their custody with the federal INS, President Trump issued Executive Order 13768,providing that "[i]t is the policy of the executive branch to ensure that jurisdictions that fail to comply with applicable Federal law do not receive Federal funds, except as mandated by law." The order specifically empowers the Secretary of Homeland Security to designate state and local jurisdictions that refuse to comply with 1373 as "sanctuary jurisdictions." Under the order, once the Secretary designates a state or locality as a "sanctuary jurisdiction," executive branch officials are commanded to strip the jurisdiction of their eligibility to receive any federal grant money that has been authorized by Congress, regardless of the nature of the federal program.

As you know, Bloom County has long prohibited its employees from sharing information or cooperating with federal immigration authorities. The County's annual budget is $9.6 billion; it receives approximately $1.7 billion of this in a variety of grants from the federal government. This includes approximately 30% of the annual budget for the County's Department of Emergency Management, 40% of the budget for the Department of Public Health, and it includes approximately $800 million annually in multi-year federal grants, mostly for public infrastructure. The Trump Administration has threatened to withhold all of the County's federal grant money if it fails to change its policy. As a result, we expect, in the coming days, that the Secretary of Homeland Security is likely to designate Bloom County as a "sanctuary jurisdiction," and I'd like to begin researching whether we have any constitutional remedies to prevent the federal government from withholding our grants.

We need your assistance in determining how we might go about challenging the Executive Order if it is enforced against Bloom County. Specifically, what viable constitutional claims do you think we can make to challenge the enforcement of the Executive Order? I don't need you to articulate the Administration's arguments in response.Instead, I'd like you to set out any reasonable constitutional claims we might have to challenge the Administration's actions, any relevant doctrine, and explain why you think each potential constitutional claim is plausible.

Your submission should follow these guidelines:

You should assume that the County will have standing to challenge the application of the executive order.

Your analysis must not exceed 700 words, you do not need to include a restatement of the underlying facts, and you are not required to Bluebook.

Thanks for your help!