Judge Blocks Trump Administration Immigration Conditions on Disaster Funding

U.S. District Judge William Smith permanently enjoined the Department of Homeland Security from requiring states to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement as a condition for receiving disaster funding. The ruling follows a September summary judgment in which Smith found such conditions unconstitutional and in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.

A coalition of 20 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia alleged that the agency continued to attach these conditions to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants despite the previous order. The administration argued the challenge was moot because it excluded 12 of 18 programs from the requirements and claimed it was preserving its ability to enforce conditions if the ruling were overturned on appeal.

Judge Smith rejected those arguments, characterizing the administration's actions as a "ham-handed attempt to bully the states" into making promises they had no obligation to make at the risk of losing critical funding. He ruled that the agency did not make a good faith effort to comply with the original order. The court mandated that the Department of Homeland Security remove all immigration-related conditions and any language suggesting the requirements might apply if the ruling were stayed or vacated within seven days.