San Francisco is being sued over its reparations fund on grounds that its taxpayer money is being “unlawfully” used for a policy that allegedly violates the equal protection clause.

According to the Pacific Legal Foundation, several San Francisco residents and Californians for Equal Rights Foundation sued San Francisco Thursday, challenging an ordinance that establishes a fund for Black residents. 

The lawsuit alleges that the ordinance is discriminating on the basis of race because it allows taxpayer money to be funneled into the fund. The plaintiffs said a win would protect taxpayers from supporting a government-based racially motivated program and establish boundaries for other cities implementing similar policies.

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“Acknowledging past injustice does not give the government license to spend public resources on programs that sort people by race and ancestry today,” said Andrew Quinio, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation. 

“The Constitution requires the city to address proven harm directly, not through sweeping racial and ancestral classifications. This lawsuit is about ensuring that all Americans are treated as individuals under the law and not forced to subsidize government policies that collectively bind them to history that they did not experience or inflict.”

San Francisco officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

The mayor of San Francisco signed an ordinance that creates a reparations fund that could one day grant each of the city’s eligible Black residents up to $5 million in reparations for alleged historic discrimination and displacement.

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The ordinance, passed by the Board of Supervisors in December, was signed by Democratic Mayor Daniel Lurie two days before Christmas. It establishes the legal framework for the fund but does not allocate funds or guarantee payments. The fund can be financed with private donations, foundations and other non-city sources. Any taxpayer-funded reparations payouts would require separate legislation, an identified funding source and mayoral approval. 

However, Lurie told Fox News Digital that no taxpayer money would be paid into the potential pot, citing the city’s $1 billion budget deficit. 

“I was elected to drive San Francisco’s recovery, and that’s what I’m focused on every day,” Lurie said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “We are not allocating money to this fund. With a historic $1 billion budget deficit, we are going to spend our money on making the city safer and cleaner.”

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“The Reparations Plan outlines a variety of methods to provide restitution, compensation and rehabilitation to individuals who are Black and/or descendants of a chattel enslaved person and have experienced a proven harm in San Francisco,” the ordinance says.

The plaintiffs allege a “misuse of government power” as the city’s Human Rights Commission administers the program.

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According to the complaint, “By directing an agency funded almost entirely by taxpayer dollars to administer funding solely dedicated to implement race-exclusive benefits, the city is using public money, public employees, and public authority to carry out an unconstitutional racial spoils system that allocates benefits and opportunities based on race and ancestry.”

“Taxpayer funds cannot be used to manage the assets of an unlawful program,” Quinio said in a statement to Courthouse News.

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San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Keion White was shot in an ankle Monday morning and underwent surgery, according to his team and police.

“Keion White was a victim of a shooting and sustained a bullet wound to his ankle this morning in San Francisco,” the 49ers said in a statement.

The injury required surgery Monday afternoon, the team said; additional details were unavailable.

Officers responded to a business in the Mission District just after 4 a.m. Monday, San Francisco police said in a statement.

Shortly afterward, paramedics arrived and took the victim, who sustained non-life-threatening injuries, to a hospital, police said. The attack was preceded by an argument between two groups, police said. No suspects have been identified.

The police department’s Strategic Investigation Unit was investigating, the department said.

The shooting happened the same day the 49ers thanked the San Francisco Bay Area and the team’s co-hosts for helping welcome the Super Bowl to the 49ers’ home venue, Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, on Sunday.

It’s the second time in two years that a 49ers player has been shot in the city’s urban core. Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was shot and injured during an alleged attempted robbery in Union Square in August 2024. He made a full recovery.

White appeared in 11 games with the 49ers after he was traded from the New England Patriots.

Denver Public School Board President Xóchitl Gaytán has been working with immigration advocacy groups to create a set of policy changes that would add further protections for undocumented students. However, some community members believe the proposal goes too far.

For Gaytán, protecting undocumented students is personal.

“I am the only board member on the DPS board of education that has a lived experience as being someone who is undocumented for half of her life,” said Gaytán. Therefore, for me, this issue is something that I have deep ties with.”

Which is why she’s working with immigration groups to propose a new policy that would enhance protections such as establishing safe zones and would not allow any student to be questioned, detained or removed from ICE within those zones without a warrant. 

“Our students, our families, are very scared, like I mentioned, their education is being interrupted and not showing up to school,” said Berenice Aguirre, the interim executive director for Movimiento Poder.

Movimiento Poder is one of the organizations that helped create the language in the proposal.

“I think there’s an urgency on all parts, and that’s why we want to work together, collaborate and ensure that there are stronger protections,” Aguirre added.

Gaytán recently tried to introduce the proposal for public comment, but the board decided they needed more time to look into it. Since then, concerns have been raised by community members over a portion that would prohibit a school resource officer from arresting or issuing a citation to a student that’s undocumented.

“I think that the district as a whole lacks adequate consequences and appropriate consequences for students’ behavior,” said Melissa Craven, Denver resident and former DPS employee and parent. “And so, if you now have a group of students that have no consequences, I’m concerned about the safety of everyone, including the staff in those buildings as well.”

Craven previously served as DPS Deputy Chief of the Department of Safety and Security.  

“When you give a free pass for bad behavior, harmful behavior, risky behavior, kids are typically going to take it and run if they’re inclined to do so, and that puts everybody at risk,” said Craven, who supports the other proposed provisions.

Gaytán told CBS Colorado her hope is to bring the proposal forward again at another public comment session. Right now, the next one on the schedule is in March.