A preliminary injunction has been issued to block new conditions for federal grants that threatened to withhold money from the City of St. Paul, Minnesota. 

The conditions, created by the Trump Administration, were made in what the city says was "an attempt to punish local governments that didn't follow vague federal directives in several executive orders." 

The injunction was made on Wednesday by a federal judge in California, about a month after St. Paul, as well as other cities and counties across the country, challenged the conditions. The judge's decision blocks the administration from enforcing the funding threats as the case advances through the court system. It also means the federal funds already allocated to cities can't be revoked or restricted. 

"The court's decision affirms what we have always stood for: local control, the rule of the law, and the constitutional separation of powers. St. Paul depends on federal resources to support housing, transit, public safety, and community health. Our responsibility to fight to protect our residents will not cease no matter the president's politically motivated interference," said St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter. 

Among the funds threatened to be withheld are money for transportation, housing support and Community Development Block Grants. The conditions were created after the grants were approved by Congress, according to city leaders. 

Back in January, the Justice Department directed prosecutors and law enforcement agencies to focus on enacting President Trump's immigration policies and said they should potentially charge state or local officials who impede their efforts. 

A month later, St. Paul and Minneapolis joined multiple cities in California, as well as Seattle, Washington and Santa Fe, New Mexico, in a lawsuit against the Trump administration's crackdown on so-called "sanctuary city" policies. Shortly after taking office, President Trump signed an executive order that seeks to stop federal funding to sanctuary cities. 

A judge heard a challenge from San Francisco on the crackdown in late April, and the following day, a preliminary injunction was issued blocking the Trump administration from pulling funds from the so-called "sanctuary cities." 

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a directive earlier this year to punish sanctuary jurisdictions by ending funding to any that "unlawfully interfere with federal law enforcement operations" or otherwise do not comply with the federal government's immigration policies.

The White House has previously called out St. Paul, saying officials in sanctuary cities like it are "sick politicians who want killers, rapists roaming our streets."