A federal judge has delivered a significant blow to the Trump administration's immigration enforcement strategy, blocking its attempt to withhold more than $233 million in federal security funding from states that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Court Rules Funding Cuts "Arbitrary and Capricious"
In a decisive 48-page ruling issued on Monday, U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy found the administration's actions unlawful. The judge, who was appointed by former President Trump, ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to restore the previously announced funding allocations to the plaintiff states.
The case was brought by a coalition of 12 state attorneys general after their jurisdictions were notified they would receive drastically reduced grants under the $1 billion Homeland Security Grant Program. The affected states included Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
Judge McElroy sharply criticized the administration's methodology, writing that the cuts appeared politically motivated. "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?" she stated.
Funding Vital for Counterterrorism and Disaster Response
The contested program is designed to allocate funds based on assessed risks, with states typically passing the money to local police and fire departments for preparedness and counterterrorism efforts. In her ruling, Judge McElroy emphasized the critical nature of this funding, directly linking it to recent tragedies.
She notably cited the recent attack at Brown University in Rhode Island, where a gunman killed two students and injured nine others. The judge argued the federal program is vital for responding to such events. Her ruling was issued just over a week after that shooting.
"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 wrote. "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."
Legal and Political Fallout
This ruling solidifies a legal victory for the coalition of states and follows a separate federal court decision that found it unconstitutional for the government to tie FEMA disaster funding to immigration enforcement cooperation.
DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin condemned the court's decision in a statement, vowing to fight the order. "This judicial sabotage threatens the safety of our states, counties, towns, and weakens the entire nation," McLaughlin said. "We will fight to restore these critical reforms and protect American lives."
Conversely, the attorneys general who sued hailed the ruling as a major win. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell stated, "This victory ensures that the Trump Administration cannot punish states that refuse to help carry out its cruel immigration agenda, particularly by denying them lifesaving funding that helps prepare for and respond to disasters and emergencies."
The judge's forceful rebuke and order to immediately restore funding mark a significant setback for the administration's policy of using federal grants as leverage to compel state and local cooperation on immigration enforcement.
