Judge rules Trump administration can’t require states to help on immigration to get transport money
June 20, 2025
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from withholding billions of dollars in transportation funds from states that don’t agree to participate in some immigration enforcement actions. Twenty states sued after they said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened to cut off funding to states that refused to comply with President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. on Thursday barred federal transportation officials from carrying out that threat before the lawsuit is fully resolved. An attorney for the Department of Transportation had argued that the department had the legal discretion to set conditions on states receiving the congressionally appropriated funds.
