A federal judge has made a significant ruling that impacts the ongoing debate over immigration enforcement and federal funding. On Thursday, Chief U.S. District Judge John McConnell, based in Providence, Rhode Island, issued a ruling that prevents President Donald Trump’s administration from mandating that 20 Democratic-led states cooperate with immigration enforcement to receive billions of dollars in transportation grant funding.
Judge McConnell determined that the Transportation Department lacks the authority to impose conditions requiring states to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for transportation funding. He articulated that such a requirement violates the Constitution, emphasizing that there is no clear or plausible connection between compliance with immigration enforcement and the intended uses of the federal funds, which are allocated for infrastructure projects like highways and bridges.
“Congress did not authorize or grant authority to the Secretary of Transportation to impose immigration enforcement conditions on federal dollars specifically appropriated for transportation purposes,” McConnell wrote in his decision. This ruling highlights the separation of powers and the constraints on executive authority regarding federal funding.
The ruling included a preliminary injunction that stops the Trump administration from enforcing these conditions against the 20 states involved in the lawsuit, which also includes various government subdivisions, such as cities. The Trump administration has not yet responded to requests for comment on this ruling, but it has previously defended the policy as falling within the department’s discretionary powers.
This legal action was initiated by a coalition of Democratic state attorneys general who argued that the administration was unlawfully attempting to withhold federal funds as a means of coercing states into compliance with Trump's stringent immigration policies. The lawsuit came to a head following a notification from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on April 24, warning states they could lose access to vital transportation funding if they did not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, including efforts by ICE.
Since his return to office on January 20, Trump has signed several executive orders aimed at cutting off federal funding to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions, which typically have laws that restrict local law enforcement from assisting federal officials with civil immigration arrests. These moves are part of the administration's broader strategy to conduct mass deportations.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta praised Judge McConnell’s ruling, stating that Trump had been “treating these funds — funds that go toward improving our roads and keeping our planes in the air — as a bargaining chip.” This sentiment underscores the broader concerns regarding the politicization of critical federal funding and its implications for state infrastructure.
In addition to this ruling, the 20 states are pursuing a separate case in Rhode Island, challenging new immigration enforcement conditions imposed by the Homeland Security Department on various grant programs. This ongoing legal battle highlights the contentious intersection of immigration policy, state rights, and federal funding.
