A federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce federal homeland security funding, including disaster funding, for states that do not comply with immigration enforcement policies.
US District Judge Mary McElroy of Rhode Island, appointed by Trump in 2018, said: Ruling on Monday The latest case was “another example” of the Trump administration linking aid to state and local governments to its campaign against immigration.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) have cut more than $230 million in federal grants to Connecticut, Delaware, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and the District of Columbia. The grants were part of $1 billion in annual funds given to states and local governments for counterterrorism efforts.
In sting A 48-page written decision“The defendants’ willful abuse of their role in administering federal grants is particularly disturbing given the fact that they were entrusted with a solemn duty: to protect our nation and its citizens,” McElroy wrote.
“While the complexities of administrative law and the terms and conditions of federal grants may seem abstract to some, the funding involved here supports vital counterterrorism and law enforcement programs,” she added.
McElroy’s ruling specifically cited the mass shooting at Brown University, in which a gunman killed two people and wounded nine others, as an example of how federal grant money would likely be used to aid a law enforcement response.
“Holding funding for such programs hostage based solely on what appear to be the political whims of the defendants is unreasonable and, at least here, illegal,” McElroy wrote.
A coalition of 12 attorneys general from affected states who filed lawsuits in response to the cuts called McElroy’s decision a major win.
“Law enforcement officials and local leaders across New York are counting on these funds to keep New Yorkers safe,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said. In a statement After the McElroy decision. “The Administration’s attempt to play politics with these resources was illegal and puts our state at risk. This decision is a major win in our ongoing efforts to protect New Yorkers from reckless funding cuts.”
The Department of Homeland Security has indicated that it will appeal the latest decision, which was reported by Axios I mentioned.
The Associated Press contributed Preparing reports