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Court Sides With Trump on Grant Fight 02/27 06:09
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Trump administration can withhold millions of dollars
in law enforcement grants to force states to cooperate with U.S. immigration
enforcement, a federal appeals court in New York ruled Wednesday in a decision
that conflicted with three other federal appeals courts.
The ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan overturned
a lower court's decision ordering the administration to release funding to New
York City and seven states --- New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington,
Massachusetts, Virginia and Rhode Island.
The states and city sued the U.S. government after the Justice Department
announced in 2017 that it would withhold grant money from cities and states
until they gave federal immigration authorities access to jails and provide
advance notice when someone in the country illegally is about to be released.
Before the change, cities and states seeking grant money were required only
to show they were not preventing local law enforcement from communicating with
federal authorities about the immigration status of people who were detained.
At the time, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions said: "So-called
'sanctuary' policies make all of us less safe because they intentionally
undermine our laws and protect illegal aliens who have committed crimes."
In 2018, the Justice Department imposed additional conditions on the grant
money, though challenges to those have not yet reached the appeals court in New
York.
The 2nd Circuit said the plain language of relevant laws make clear that the
U.S. attorney general can impose conditions on states and municipalities
receiving money.
And it noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly observed that the
federal government maintains broad power over states when it comes to
immigration policies.
In the past two years, federal appeals courts in Chicago, Philadelphia and
San Francisco have ruled against the federal government by upholding
lower-court injunctions placed on the enforcement of some or all of the
challenged conditions.
"While mindful of the respect owed to our sister circuits, we cannot agree
that the federal government must be enjoined from imposing the challenged
conditions on the federal grants here at issue," the 2nd Circuit three-judge
panel said in a decision written by Judge Reena Raggi.
"These conditions help the federal government enforce national immigration
laws and policies supported by successive Democratic and Republican
administrations. But more to the authorization point, they ensure that
applicants satisfy particular statutory grant requirements imposed by Congress
and subject to Attorney General oversight," the appeals court said.
The Justice Department praised the decision, issuing a statement calling it
a "major victory for Americans" and saying it recognizes that the attorney
general has authority to ensure that grant recipients are not thwarting federal
law enforcement priorities.
The department added that the ruling's effect will be limited because other
courts have ruled the other way, giving the plaintiffs in the New York case the
opportunity to point to those as reasons to ignore the new conditions.
Cody Wofsy, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, called
the decision a "real outlier," saying he believed the 2nd Circuit was the
nation's first court to side with the Trump administration on the issue.
"Over and over, courts have said the Department of Justice doesn't have
authority under governing statutes to impose these conditions," he said. "These
conditions are part of the administration's attempts to bully, cajole and
coerce state and local governments into participating in federal immigration
enforcement activities."
Under the Constitution's federalism principles and the 10th Amendment, Wofsy
said, states and municipalities "are entitled to decline to become part of the
administration's deportation force."
In a statement, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Trump's "latest
retaliation against his hometown takes away security funding from the number
one terrorist target in America --- all because we refuse to play by his
arbitrary rules."
He added: "We'll see President Trump back in court and we will win."
Bitta Mostofi, commissioner of the city's Office of Immigrant Affairs, said
in a statement that the ruling was deeply troubling.
"New York City stands with our immigrant brothers and sisters and that will
never change," Mostofi said.
The appeals rulings pertain to the issuance of the Edward Byrne Memorial
Justice Assistance Grant Program.
Created in 2006, it is the vehicle through which Congress annually dispenses
over $250 million in federal funding for state and local criminal justice
efforts.
The Byrne Program was named for New York City Police Officer Edward Byrne,
who at age 22 was shot to death while guarding the home of a Guyanese immigrant
cooperating with authorities investigating drug trafficking.
(KR)
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