On a break from the many excellent panels and sessions at the annual conference for the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), I managed to get a wonderful look at two iconic San Francisco buildings. On the left is the famous Transamerica Pyramid Center, designed specifically by William Pereira & Associates to "allow natural light and fresh air to filter down to the streets below." On the right is the Sentinel Building, which I was not familiar with prior to this trip. The building has had a number of owners and tenants since its completion in 1907, but is currently owned by Francis Ford Coppola, who bought the building in 1972 to be the headquarters for his production company, American Zoetrope, from where the cafe on the ground floor gets its name. Films including the Godfather II and III, Apocalypse Now, The Conversation, One From the Heart, The Outsiders, and Dracula were written, edited, or sound mixed inside this pretty green building. Perhaps they'd like a law firm tenant?

Last week, Judge William Orrick, a federal district judge for Northern California, permanently blocked President Trump’s executive order cutting federal funds to sanctuary cities that refuse to comply with federal efforts to detain and deport undocumented immigrants. In his ruling, the judge writes that the executive order violates the US Constitution’s principles of federalism and separation of powers. This decision is the result of a lawsuit brought by the city and county of San Francisco and Santa Clara County challenging the executive order issued in January this year that aimed to cut federal funding for cities which did not comply with a statute that prohibits state and local governments from refusing to relay information about the immigration status of those in their jurisdiction to federal immigration authorities. In his decision, Judge Orrick states: “The Counties have demonstrated that the Executive Order has caused and will cause them constitutional injuries by violating the separation of powers doctrine and depriving them of their Tenth and Fifth Amendment rights.”