A federal judge ruled Wednesday that it is unconstitutional for the Trump administration to require states to cooperate with immigration enforcement in order to receive certain Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants. This marks a significant legal setback in the administration’s push to revoke funding from so-called “sanctuary” cities and states.
U.S. District Judge William Smith of Rhode Island ruled in favor of 20 mostly Democratic states that had sued FEMA, accusing the administration of “holding critical emergency preparedness and response funding hostage” unless the states assist immigration agents. The decision is likely to be appealed.
The states that filed the lawsuit—including California, New York, and Illinois—took issue with a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document issued earlier this year. The document states that recipients of DHS grants must “honor requests for cooperation” with immigration authorities, including requests to detain migrants or share information. Some of the plaintiffs are “sanctuary” states that have laws restricting cooperation between local police and immigration agents.
The states argued that this move violates federal law and the Constitution, potentially depriving them of billions of dollars per year in key disaster grants from FEMA, which is a sub-agency of DHS. The Trump administration, however, has maintained that its policy does not violate the law.
Months after the lawsuit was filed, the government informed the court that it had decided most of the FEMA disaster grants the states were concerned about would not be tied to immigration cooperation after all. Based on this, the administration called the lawsuit moot.
The states, however, described the Trump administration’s decision not to link disaster grants to immigration enforcement as “halfhearted and incomplete.” They argued it was unclear if this decision was effectively communicated to agency staff or whether it would apply beyond the year 2025.
In a detailed 45-page ruling on Wednesday, Judge Smith sided with the states and granted summary judgment. He called the policy “both arbitrary and capricious and unconstitutional.” He further emphasized, “Plaintiff States stand to suffer irreparable harm; the effect of the loss of emergency and disaster funds cannot be recovered later, and the downstream effect on disaster response and public safety are real and not compensable.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James praised the ruling, stating: “The federal government cannot prioritize its cruel immigration agenda over Americans’ safety. Today, the court affirmed that it is blatantly unconstitutional for DHS to hold life-saving disaster relief funds hostage to advance its anti-immigration efforts.”
In response, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin asserted that cities and states “that break the law and prevent us from arresting criminal illegal aliens should not receive federal funding.” She added, “The Trump Administration is committed to restoring the rule of law. No lawsuit, not this one or any other, is going to stop us from doing that.”
This ruling comes after months of efforts by President Trump to punish “sanctuary” cities and states that limit cooperation between local police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Trump administration argues that these jurisdictions hinder ICE’s ability to apprehend undocumented immigrants, including accused criminals and individuals in state or local custody.
On the other hand, “sanctuary” cities and states contend that requiring cooperation with ICE would damage community trust in law enforcement and make some immigrants hesitant to report crimes.
Within hours of returning to office in January, President Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to ensure that “sanctuary” jurisdictions “do not receive access to Federal funds.” Since then, several federal agencies—including the Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development—have moved to restrict grants to these cities and states.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-administration-immigration-fema-grants-ruling-sanctuary-state/
