Oregon sued the Trump administration Friday over a requirement the state work with immigration authorities if it wants to receive more than $4 million in federal grants.
The U.S. Department of Justice distributes Byrne JAG grants, which are used by jurisdictions across the country to help law enforcement fund new initiatives and fight crime.
Related: Oregonians Vote To Keep State's Sanctuary Law, Reject Measure 105
Last November, the Department of Justice released a list of jurisdictions it says weren't complying with 8 U.S.C. 1373, a federal law that promotes information sharing between local law enforcement and the federal government when it comes to immigration enforcement.
The list included both Multnomah County and the state of Oregon.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said he plans to ask the City Council to sign onto the lawsuit as well.
The lawsuit comes days after Oregon voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot measure that would scrap the state's 31 year-old sanctuary law.
“Oregon voters sent a clear message to the Trump administration this week: Oregonians support our sanctuary laws,” Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “The Trump administration’s attempts to withhold public safety dollars from our state is unjust, dangerous, and unconstitutional ... . We will not stand for this administration’s attempts to strong-arm our state by withholding critical public safety dollars.”
Oregon is a sanctuary state and prohibits local and state resources from enforcing federal immigration law if a person's only crime is being the the country unlawfully.
"Defendants have implied in correspondence with Oregon officials that these statutes violate federal law by preventing cooperation between law enforcement and immigration authorities," Oregon's lawsuit states. "But in the statutes requiring Defendants to distribute Byrne JAG funds to states and localities, Congress did not impose any condition requiring states to have laws that aid Defendants’ implementation of federal immigration policy."
In 2017, Oregon lawmakers passed another bill aimed and strengthening the state's sanctuary law. That bill prohibits public agencies from releasing personal information for "the purpose of enforcement of federal immigration laws." The statue makes exceptions for information required by state or federal law.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Eugene by state Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, states the Legislature drafted the 2017 law so it was in compliance with federal law, specifically 8 U.S.C. 1373.
"For years, these grants have provided millions of dollars to law enforcement in Oregon," Rosenblum said in a statement. "Suddenly these public safety funds have been withdrawn because Oregon will not submit to U.S. DOJ's demand that Oregon participate in its immigration enforcement efforts."
The U.S. DOJ withheld more than $2 million from the state in 2017, the lawsuit states. Oregon officials says they also don't expect to receive the $2 million applied for this year.
California and Illinois have filed similar lawsuits.