A federal judge in Brooklyn on Thursday dismissed the Trump administration's lawsuit challenging New York City's sanctuary laws, which limit how city agencies cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Justice Department sued in July 2025, arguing that the city's rules on holding people for ICE and sharing custody information obstruct federal immigration enforcement and violate the Constitution's Supremacy Clause.
U.S. District Judge Ramón Reyes Jr. ruled that the federal government lacked standing to challenge the city's ban on honoring ICE detainer requests, because state law already prohibits that practice. He also rejected the argument that federal law overrides the city's limits on sharing release dates and other custody information. He found that federal law does not require local governments to share that information, and that forcing officials to assist immigration enforcement would cross constitutional limits.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the decision "a victory for New Yorkers and a rebuke to ICE's deportation agenda."
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The administration has made challenging sanctuary policies a centerpiece of its immigration enforcement campaign and has argued they shield people who should be handed to federal authorities.
The ruling comes a week after an ICE agent shot a man during an enforcement operation in Manhattan's Marble Hill neighborhood, which set off protests.
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