Federal Judge Bars Trump Admin’s Funding Cuts To Sanctuary States

Authored by Kimberly Hayek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A federal judge in Rhode Island has blocked the Trump administration’s plan to divert Homeland Security funding from states that fail to assist with certain federal immigration efforts.

U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy’s ruling on Monday sided with a coalition of 12 attorneys general that sued the administration this year after being informed that several states would receive reduced federal grants as a result of their sanctuary jurisdiction statuses.

The order affects funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which had cut more than $233 million from Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. These funds are part of a $1 billion program tied to risk assessments and primarily go to local law enforcement and emergency services.

The group of a dozen attorneys general included those from California, Illinois, and New Jersey, who all wanted to participate in challenging the legality of the Trump administration’s policy.

In her 48-page ruling, McElroy ruled that the government’s funding decisions wrongly took into consideration states’ positions on immigration enforcement.

“What else could defendants’ decisions to cut funding to specific counterterrorism programming by conspicuous round numbered amounts—including by slashing off the millions-place digits of awarded sums—be if not arbitrary and capricious? Neither a law degree nor a degree in mathematics is required to deduce that no plausible, rational formula could produce this result,” McElroy wrote.

The judge then ordered DHS to reinstate the previously announced funding allocations to the plaintiff states.

“Defendants’ wanton abuse of their role in federal grant administration is particularly troublesome given the fact that they have been entrusted with a most solemn duty: safeguarding our nation and its citizens,” McElroy wrote. “While the intricacies of administrative law and the terms and conditions on federal grants may seem abstract to some, the funding at issue here supports vital counterterrorism and law enforcement programs.”

McElroy highlighted the recent Brown University attack, where a man killed two students and injured nine others, as an instance where the $1 billion federal program would be crucial in responding to such a tragedy.

“To hold hostage funding for programs like these based solely on what appear to be defendants’ political whims is unconscionable and, at least here, unlawful,” the Rhode Island-based judge stated in her ruling.

DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said the department will fight the order.

“This judicial sabotage threatens the safety of our states, counties, towns, and weakens the entire nation,” McLaughlin said in a statement. “We will fight to restore these critical reforms and protect American lives.”

The White House did not return a request for comment.

The lawsuit dates back to September, when 11 states and the District of Columbia took aim at the administration’s directive to slash funds to sanctuary areas, arguing it violated federal law and was meant to coerce compliance with immigration policies.

A federal judge permanently blocked DHS in October from withholding $34 million for New York City’s transportation security due to its sanctuary status, calling the action “arbitrary, capricious, and a blatant violation of the law.”

An August ruling barred funding blocks to 34 cities and counties over sanctuary policies, extending injunctions against immigration-related grant conditions.

In April, a judge blocked Trump’s broader defunding efforts against sanctuary cities such as San Francisco and Santa Clara, California, following suits against executive orders.

Reuters contributed to this report.