The Trump Administration cannot withhold billions of dollars in transportation grant funding from states led by Democrats that refuse to comply with immigration enforcement, according to a significant ruling issued on Thursday. Chief U.S. District Judge John McConnell, based in Providence, Rhode Island, granted a preliminary injunction in a case brought by twenty states, emphasizing that without this injunction, large-scale irreparable harm would occur.
The ruling arrives just ahead of a crucial deadline on June 20 for states to submit their grant applications. Late Thursday evening, the Department of Transportation (DOT) did not provide any comments regarding the ruling. Prior to this deadline, DOT Secretary Sean Duffy had imposed new conditions on the funding, mandating that grant applications agree to an Immigration Enforcement Condition upon submission.
In an April letter directed at grant applicants, Secretary Duffy detailed expectations concerning immigration enforcement and diversity programs, commonly referred to as DEI. He stated that adherence to legal obligations was a prerequisite for receiving DOT financial assistance. Duffy warned that non-compliance with federal law or failure to cooperate with federal authorities could jeopardize access to federal funding.
In a statement released simultaneously with the letter, Duffy asserted that this guidance should not be surprising. He emphasized that federal grants come with clear obligations to adhere to federal laws. "It shouldn't be controversial," he remarked, urging the enforcement of immigration rules while calling for the end of anti-American DEI policies and the protection of free speech. Duffy insisted that these values reflect the priorities of the American people and vowed to take necessary actions to ensure compliance.
In response, twenty Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the so-called Duffy Directive, claiming that Duffy lacked the authority to impose such conditions. They argued that these requirements were coercive and wholly unrelated to the purposes of the transportation funding that Congress had appropriated for the maintenance and safety of roads, highways, bridges, and the development of other transportation projects.
In his decision on Thursday, Judge McConnell, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, sided with the states. He pointed out that the government failed to demonstrate any plausible connection between cooperating with ICE enforcement and the congressionally approved purposes of the Department of Transportation. Judge McConnell concluded that the public interest further supports an injunction, noting that without such an order, there is a substantial risk that states and their citizens will face significant disruptions in transportation services. This could jeopardize ongoing projects, those in development for which resources have already been expended, and the health and safety of transportation services that are crucial to daily life.
