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2 Massachusetts Cities Sue Trump Over Order To Cut Sanctuary City Funding

President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)
President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

Two Massachusetts cities with large Latino populations have sued President Donald Trump over his threat to cut federal funding to so-called sanctuary cities.

The lawsuit filed by Chelsea and Lawrence in federal court in Boston on Wednesday says Trump's executive order to withdraw funding from communities that decline to cooperate with federal immigration authorities "constitutes unconstitutional coercion" and is "a major affront to basic principles of federalism and the separation of powers."

San Francisco filed a similar lawsuit last week.

The Massachusetts suit says the president's order was made without Congressional approval, and is overly broad. The suit says losing federal funding could cause significant hardship.

About 62 percent of Chelsea's nearly 40,000 residents identify as Hispanic or Latino. Nearly 74 percent of Lawrence's 80,000 residents identify as Hispanic or Latino.

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