'Ridiculous ruling'

President Donald Trump yesterday slammed as "ridiculous" a US judge's ruling blocking an executive order that could deny billions of dollars to so-called sanctuary cities harboring illegal immigrants.

Judge William Orrick of San Francisco's federal court on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction barring any attempt to implement Trump's January 25 executive order.

"First the Ninth Circuit rules against the ban & now it hits again on sanctuary cities - both ridiculous rulings. See you in the Supreme Court!" Trump tweeted.

The ruling -- which could affect more than 300 cities and counties that have denounced Trump's order -- is another blow to the White House following successful court challenges to its two travel bans targeting Muslim-majority countries.

The White House reacted with a vitriolic statement late Tuesday, claiming that "the rule of law suffered another blow, as an unelected judge unilaterally rewrote immigration policy".

The judge's "erroneous ruling is a gift to the criminal gang and cartel element in our country," and is "one more example of egregious overreach" by a single judge that "undermines faith in our legal system."

The White House claimed that "San Francisco, and cities like it, are putting the well-being of criminal aliens before the safety of our citizens, and those city officials who authored these policies have the blood of dead Americans on their hands."