Democratic attorneys general from 20 states have filed two lawsuits against the Trump administration over its threats to withhold billions of federal dollars if they don’t meet President Trump’s new immigration enforcement demands.
One suit is directed at Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding federal funds for disaster recovery efforts. The other is directed to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the Department of Transportation (DOT) regarding funding for bridges, roads, and transportation projects.
The suits challenge whether it’s legal for the administration to pull potentially dozens of federal grants because of the new conditions. No federal funding has been stopped or clawed back to date, they note, but both Duffy and Noem have recently warned states they will lose money if they don’t aid Trump’s immigration crackdown efforts.
“We are experiencing creeping authoritarianism in this country, and as a people we must continue to resist,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said in a statement on the lawsuits. “Using the safety of Americans as collateral, the Trump Administration is once again illegally subverting the Congress, bullying the states to relinquish their right, ensured by the Constitution, to enact policies and laws that best serve their residents.”
“By threatening to withhold these congressionally allocated funds, used for projects like fixing highways and preparing for natural disasters, the President is willing to put our collective safety at risk,” he added.
Neronha, along with Attorneys General Kwame Raoul of Illinois, Rob Bonta of California, Anthony Brown of Maryland and Matthew Platkin of New Jersey, is leading the suit. Other states that have signed on include Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
Trump signed executive orders this year that directed his agency heads to block access to federal funds if states don’t help with his administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
Both complaints filed by the states describe the funding threats as “hostage” situations and seek injunctions to block the administration from withholding money.
According to the DHS-focused suit, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has recently informed states that they must certify compliance with the federal government’s immigration enforcement conditions in exchange for FEMA funding.
Meanwhile, the Transportation complaint notes that Duffy sent a letter to states last month, warning that they will lose federal funding if they don’t comply with Trump’s directives, including assisting with immigration enforcement. He wrote that providing driver’s licenses to migrants without legal status or hampering Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigations would be considered grounds for withholding transportation funds.
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