Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Plan to Punish Sanctuary States with Disaster Funding Cuts

In a major victory for Democratic states, a federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's attempt to reallocate disaster funding away from states that refuse to cooperate with certain federal immigration enforcement. U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy's ruling is a win for a coalition of 12 attorneys general who sued the administration after being alerted that their states would receive drastically reduced federal grants. The Trump administration had cut over $233 million from states with 'sanctuary' jurisdictions, including Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. The funding, part of a $1 billion program, is meant to be based on assessed risks, but the administration's decision was seen as a way to punish states for not cooperating with immigration enforcement. Judge McElroy found that the administration's decision was 'arbitrary and capricious' and ordered the Department of Homeland Security to restore the previously announced funding allocations to the plaintiff states. The decision is a significant blow to the Trump administration's efforts to use disaster funding as a tool to enforce its immigration agenda. In her ruling, McElroy noted that the funding is vital for responding to emergencies and disasters, citing the recent Brown University attack as an example. '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. The decision has been hailed as a victory by the coalition of attorneys general, who said it ensures that states cannot be punished for refusing to help carry out the Trump administration's 'cruel immigration agenda.'