A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's reduction of homeland security funding for states that do not cooperate with immigration enforcement. The cuts, totalling more than $230m, targeted eight states and the District of Columbia.
US District Judge Mary McElroy of Rhode Island, a Trump appointee, ruled on Monday that the move was 'another example' of the administration tying state and local government assistance to its immigration crackdown. The grants were part of $1bn in annual funds for counter-terrorism efforts.
In a scathing 48-page decision, Judge McElroy wrote: '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.' She added that holding funding for 'vital counterterrorism and law enforcement programmes' hostage based on 'political whims' was 'unconscionable and, at least here, unlawful.'
The ruling cited the Brown University mass shooting as an example of how grant money had likely aided law enforcement response. A coalition of 12 state attorneys general who sued over the cuts welcomed the decision. New York Attorney General Letitia James called it 'a significant win' and said the administration's attempt to 'play politics with these resources was illegal and put our state at risk.'
The Department of Homeland Security has indicated it will appeal against the ruling, according to Axios.
