A federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to redirect federal funds from the Department of Homeland Security away from states that do not comply with President Donald Trump‘s immigration agenda.
The DHS and the Federal Emergency Management Agency cut a total of $233 million in funds, including money for disaster aid and relief, from eight states and Washington, D.C. The affected states were all Democratic Party strongholds, including New York, Vermont and Minnesota.
This was the second attempt by the Trump administration to revoke funding from states that did not cooperate with its immigration policies. In September, a federal judge ruled that withholding FEMA funds was unconstitutional for the same reason.
The ruling from US District Court Judge Mary McElroy characterized the admin’s actions as “wanton abuse” of their power.
“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?” McElroy wrote.
McElroy cited recent shootings at Brown University and MIT in criticizing the administration’s plan to slash funds for counterterrorism and law enforcement programs.
“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,” she wrote.
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New York Attorney General Letitia James celebrated the decision, saying New Yorkers “depend on these funds.”
“The administration’s attempt to play politics with these resources was illegal and put our state at risk. This decision is a significant win in our ongoing efforts to protect New Yorkers from reckless funding cuts,” James said in a statement on Tuesday.
DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called the decision “judicial sabotage.”
“We will fight to restore these critical reforms and protect American lives,” McLaughlin said in a statement. The DHS is planning to appeal against the latest decision, according to Axios.
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