Public Safety · Nevada
Federal judge permanently blocks Trump immigration conditions on public safety grants after Nevada-backed lawsuit
A federal judge in Rhode Island ruled the Trump administration cannot tie public safety grants to immigration enforcement. KTNV reported it as a win for Nevada AG Aaron Ford and a 23-state coalition.
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What happened
Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford and a coalition of 23 states won a court ruling that stops the federal government from attaching immigration-enforcement conditions to public safety grants approved by Congress, KTNV reported. The grants include money meant to fight crime and keep law enforcement officers safe.
The case challenged how the Trump administration has handled several streams of federal criminal justice funding. According to KTNV, the states argued the administration was using that money to pressure them into helping with immigration enforcement.
What the judge ruled
A permanent injunction
Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. of the District of Rhode Island declared the administration's actions unlawful, KTNV reported. He also permanently barred the government from putting the conditions into effect or enforcing them.
The states' legal argument
In KTNV's report, the coalition's position is that civil immigration enforcement is a federal job, not a state one. The states argued the administration's efforts to coerce them clashed with the separation of powers and federalism. They also argued the conditions violated laws passed by Congress and the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Which grants are involved
Victims of Crime Act funds
KTNV reported that the administration had earlier said states could not get Victims of Crime Act, or VOCA, money unless they agreed to its immigration demands. The multistate coalition got the federal government to remove those conditions from more than $1.3 billion in VOCA funds.
Byrne JAG and juvenile justice money
After that, the U.S. Department of Justice placed the same kind of conditions on new grants, including money for law enforcement and juvenile justice, according to KTNV. One affected program is the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Formula Grants, known as Byrne JAG. KTNV described Byrne JAG as the leading federal source of criminal justice funding for state and local governments for decades, under both political parties.
Who joined Nevada in the lawsuit
The attorneys general of California, Delaware, New Jersey, Illinois and Rhode Island served as co-leads, KTNV reported. Also joining were the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. The District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania also took part.
What Ford said
Ford framed the ruling as a protection for local crime-fighting resources. "Public safety funding is meant to protect communities, not to be used as a political bargaining chip," he said, according to KTNV.
He also accused the administration of unlawfully threatening critical law enforcement funding to force states to go along with its immigration demands. "This ruling upholds the rule of law and protects resources that help keep Nevadans safe," Ford said in KTNV's report. For more on how federal and state decisions shape policing, see our public safety coverage.
What to watch next
- How the injunction applies to the newer law enforcement and juvenile justice grants the Justice Department had tied to immigration conditions, as described by KTNV.
- Whether the Trump administration responds to the ruling. KTNV's report did not describe any appeal.
- How Byrne JAG money flows to state and local governments now that the conditions are permanently blocked.