Twenty States Sue US Over Immigration-Linked Federal Grant Cuts

A coalition of 20 Democratic-led states, including Illinois and New York, has filed two federal lawsuits to block the Trump administration from conditioning billions of dollars in federal grants on state cooperation with immigration enforcement. The lawsuits target the Departments of Transportation and Homeland Security, arguing that tying emergency preparedness and transportation funding to immigration enforcement is an unconstitutional coercion and an overreach of executive power, violating the separation of powers by usurping Congress's spending authority. The states contend that these federal funds, crucial for infrastructure and emergency services, have no connection to immigration enforcement and that withholding them threatens public safety and vital community projects. New York Attorney General Letitia James criticized the administration for diverting essential resources to advance a political agenda, highlighting the life-threatening impacts this mandate could have on transportation and emergency infrastructure. California Attorney General Rob Bonta described the administration's actions as a blatant illegal threat to use funding as leverage for immigration enforcement compliance. The Trump administration has faced previous legal challenges for attempting to withhold funds from sanctuary jurisdictions, with some courts blocking such efforts, while the Department of Justice has simultaneously filed lawsuits against states like Illinois and New York over immigration policies.