US District Judge Mary McElroy blocked the Department of Homeland Security from cutting $230 million in counter-terrorism grants to eight states and the District of Columbia that declined to comply with federal immigration enforcement policies. [5] McElroy was appointed by Trump in 2018. [5]
The cuts targeted Connecticut, Delaware, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and DC. [5] The grants are part of $1 billion in annual federal funding distributed to states and local governments for counter-terrorism efforts. [5]
DHS and FEMA made the cuts. [5] McElroy issued a 48-page written decision blocking them in Rhode Island federal court. [5]
How the grants work
The counter-terrorism grants flow through FEMA's annual allocation process to state and local law enforcement agencies. [5] The funds support equipment purchases, threat-assessment operations, and local counter-terrorism programs. [5] States typically receive their allocations at the start of each fiscal year and distribute them to municipal police departments, transit authorities, and emergency management offices that have submitted funding requests. [5]
When DHS announced the cuts, agencies that had already planned equipment purchases or staffed threat-assessment units based on expected federal funding faced immediate budget gaps. [5] The withheld $230 million represents nearly a quarter of the annual counter-terrorism grant pool, affecting jurisdictions that include major metropolitan areas like New York City and Boston. [5] The source material does not specify which specific programs in the affected jurisdictions faced cuts or whether any had already been suspended before McElroy's order. [5]
Immigration non-compliance
DHS tied the funding cuts to states not complying with federal immigration enforcement policies. [5] The source material does not specify what compliance required, whether it involved sharing arrest data, honoring ICE detainer requests, or providing access to state and local detention facilities. [5]
The decision does not indicate whether the affected states formally refused cooperation or simply maintained existing sanctuary policies that predate the current administration. [5] No statement from any of the eight states or DC appears in the source material. [5]
McElroy's decision
McElroy's 48-page decision came from a Trump appointee blocking a Trump administration funding action. [5] The source material does not include excerpts from the decision explaining her legal reasoning or which statute or regulation DHS violated. [5]
The case was filed in Rhode Island federal court. [5] The source material does not identify which of the affected states brought the lawsuit, whether they sued jointly, or what legal theory they advanced. [5] McElroy was confirmed in 2018. [5]
The appeal
The Department of Homeland Security indicated it would appeal. [5] The source material does not specify whether DHS filed a notice of appeal, requested a stay of McElroy's order pending appeal, or issued a statement defending the cuts. [5]
The source material does not indicate whether the $230 million flows to the affected states while the appeal proceeds, or whether McElroy's order includes an injunction requiring immediate disbursement. [5] The timing matters: if the grants operate on a fiscal-year cycle, delays could force states to make budget decisions without knowing whether the federal money will arrive. [5] No timeline for the appeal appears in the source material.
