PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration cannot tie transportation funding to compliance with its immigration policies.
In a Thursday, June 19, ruling, Judge John McConnell issued a preliminary injunction blocking the ability of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the Department of Transportation from linking the funds to immigration actions, in response to a suit by attorneys general in 20 states.
Duffy, in an April letter addressed to all recipients of DOT funding, said agencies could not continue diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and were required to cooperate with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and other agencies “in the enforcement of Federal immigration law.”
“Federal grants come with a clear obligation to adhere to federal laws,” Duffy said in a press release promoting that letter. “It shouldn’t be controversial – enforce our immigration rules, end anti-American DEI policies, and protect free speech. These values reflect the priorities of the American people, and I will take action to ensure compliance.”
In the case brought before the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, the McConnell ruling concludes “Congress did not authorize or grant authority to the Secretary of Transportation to impose immigration enforcement conditions on federal dollars specifically appropropriated for transportation purposes. … Under the Defendants’ position, the Executive would be allowed to place any conditions it chose on congressionally appropriated funds, even when it would be entirely unrelated to the Department’s purpose. Such is not how the three equal branches of government are allowed to operate under our Constitution.”
In granting the injunction, McConnell wrote that “the States’ claims are likely to succeed because the Defendants’ actions here violate the Constitution and statutes of the United States.”
Duffy said in a statement today, “I directed states who want federal DOT money to comply with federal immigration laws. But, no surprise, an Obama-appointed judge has ruled that states can openly defy our federal immigration laws. This is judicial activism pure and simple and I will continue to fight in the courts.”
— Updated at 11:55 a.m. with Duffy statement.
