PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to reallocate federal Homeland Security funding away from states that refuse to cooperate with certain federal immigration enforcement. U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy's ruling solidified a win for a coalition of 12 attorneys general who sued the administration after learning their states would face steep reductions in federal grants due to their “sanctuary” policies.
In total, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency reduced more than $233 million in critical funding from Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. This funding is part of a $1 billion program intended to support risk-based allocations, which states often pass on to local police and fire departments.
These cuts were introduced shortly after another federal judge ruled that the government's requirement for states to cooperate on immigration enforcement in order to qualify for FEMA disaster funding was unconstitutional.
In her comprehensive 48-page ruling, McElroy highlighted that the federal government appeared to be evaluating states' immigration policies when deciding on adjusted funding levels for the Homeland Security Grant Program and similar grants.
“What else could defendants’ decisions to cut funding to specific counterterrorism programming by conspicuous round numbered amounts... be if not arbitrary and capricious?" she noted. "Neither a law degree nor a degree in mathematics is required to deduce that no plausible, rational formula could produce this result.”
Consequently, McElroy mandated that the Department of Homeland Security restore the previously announced funding allocations to the affected states. She expressed concern over the defendants' misuse of their federal grant administration responsibilities, particularly given their critical role in safeguarding the nation and its citizens.
McElroy referenced a recent attack at Brown University, where a gunman killed two students and injured several others, emphasizing that the federal funding facilitates vital responses to such tragedies. “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,” she stated.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell praised the ruling, emphasizing that this decision prevents the Trump Administration from punishing states that resist assisting with its immigration enforcement policies and ensures access to lifesaving funding necessary for disaster preparedness.
In total, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency reduced more than $233 million in critical funding from Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. This funding is part of a $1 billion program intended to support risk-based allocations, which states often pass on to local police and fire departments.
These cuts were introduced shortly after another federal judge ruled that the government's requirement for states to cooperate on immigration enforcement in order to qualify for FEMA disaster funding was unconstitutional.
In her comprehensive 48-page ruling, McElroy highlighted that the federal government appeared to be evaluating states' immigration policies when deciding on adjusted funding levels for the Homeland Security Grant Program and similar grants.
“What else could defendants’ decisions to cut funding to specific counterterrorism programming by conspicuous round numbered amounts... be if not arbitrary and capricious?" she noted. "Neither a law degree nor a degree in mathematics is required to deduce that no plausible, rational formula could produce this result.”
Consequently, McElroy mandated that the Department of Homeland Security restore the previously announced funding allocations to the affected states. She expressed concern over the defendants' misuse of their federal grant administration responsibilities, particularly given their critical role in safeguarding the nation and its citizens.
McElroy referenced a recent attack at Brown University, where a gunman killed two students and injured several others, emphasizing that the federal funding facilitates vital responses to such tragedies. “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,” she stated.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell praised the ruling, emphasizing that this decision prevents the Trump Administration from punishing states that resist assisting with its immigration enforcement policies and ensures access to lifesaving funding necessary for disaster preparedness.
