On Tuesday, a coalition of 20 states, mostly led by Democratic attorneys general, filed two lawsuits against the Trump administration. The lawsuits challenge the administration’s threat to withhold billions of dollars in federal funding from states that do not comply with its immigration enforcement requirements.
The states argue that these threats to cut federal funds designated for transportation, counterterrorism, and emergency preparedness programs are “blatantly unlawful” and amount to a “hostage-taking scheme.” They contend that the federal government is overstepping its constitutional authority by using fiscal power to coerce states into adopting its immigration policies.
In one of the lawsuits, the states argue that the defendant’s actions—suspending critical funding—have caused substantial harm by forcing states to choose between preparing for disasters and emergencies or making decisions about how to best investigate and prosecute crimes.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is leading the litigation, said in a statement that President Trump is using crucial funds as “bargaining chips.”
Last month, the White House announced two executive orders that threaten to cut off funding to jurisdictions that do not fully cooperate with immigration authorities, particularly so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions.
The lawsuits target the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Department of Transportation, among others. They were filed in Rhode Island’s federal district court. California, Illinois, New Jersey, and Rhode Island are taking the lead in the two lawsuits, with Maryland also listed as a lead state in the transportation-related lawsuit.
Other states that have joined the legal action include Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. With the exception of Nevada and Vermont, where the governors are Republicans, all the state attorneys general and governors involved in the lawsuits are Democrats.
A few weeks ago, a similar lawsuit was filed by a coalition of 19 states, accusing the government of threatening to stop federal funding for states and school districts that implement certain diversity programs in public schools.
State attorneys general have also filed lawsuits concerning tariffs, as well as large-scale layoffs in federal agencies such as the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services.
David W. Chen covers state legislatures, state-level policy-making, and the political forces behind them.
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