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Federal Judge Blocks Trump’s Immigration Conditions on State Transportation Funding

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Business Honor- Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Immigration Conditions on Funding

Business Honor
21 June, 2025

Judge rules Trump administration cannot force states to cooperate with ICE for funding.

A federal judge Thursday banned President Donald Trump's administration from compelling 20 Democratic-governed states to assist with immigration enforcement in exchange for receiving billions of dollars in transportation funding. The order, handed down by Chief U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Providence, Rhode Island, says the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) had no power to make states comply with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the name of securing transportation project funds.

Judge McConnell held that the condition was unconstitutional because it had nothing to do with the original intent behind the transportation funds—backing highways, bridges, and other infrastructure projects. McConnell pointed out that Congress never authorized the Secretary of Transportation to subject federal transportation funding to requirements related to immigration.

In reaction to the Trump administration's policy, 20 states and some of their subdivisions, such as cities, petitioned for a writ of mandamus. The states claimed that the administration's attempt to withhold money for transportation as a means to enforce immigration laws was illegal and unconstitutional.

The ruling stops the federal government from applying this requirement to the 20 states that brought the case. The Trump administration had argued that the policy was within the discretion of the Department of Transportation, but Judge McConnell did not agree.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta welcomed the decision, saying that Trump had used 'bargaining chip' critical transportation funds to advance his hardline immigration agenda. The decision follows an earlier executive order from Trump, which sought to deny federal funding to sanctuary jurisdictions that fail to assist lawful immigration authorities.

The 20 states suing are also disputing similar immigration enforcement terms imposed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in another case, which further fuels the constitutional war over federal funding and immigration policy.