Attorney General Bonta Secures Final Ruling Blocking Illegal Conditioning of Homeland Security Grant Funding

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today secured a permanent injunction from the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island blocking the Trump Administration’s effort to unlawfully impose immigration enforcement requirements on billions of dollars in annual U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grants. In issuing a permanent injunction, the Court found that the Trump Administration’s attempt to impose this new set of conditions across a range of grant programs was arbitrary and capricious, exceeded the Trump Administration’s legal authority, and violated the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution. 

“Today, a court definitively rebuked the Trump Administration’s illegal efforts to withhold critical public safety funding from states that refuse to carry out his mass deportation agenda,” said Attorney General Bonta. “This permanent injunction is a huge win in our case that will protect funding for our communities to defend against terrorist attacks and prepare for emergencies. This is a good day for the rule of law and public safety.” 

California receives funding from DHS to prepare for, protect against, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks and other catastrophes. This includes counterterrorism grants, grants that allow states to prepare for terrorism in high-concentration urban areas, emergency preparedness grants, cybersecurity grants, and many others that are similarly not connected to civil immigration enforcement. State and local law enforcement already work closely with federal agencies on the counterterrorism measures that these grants fund.  

A copy of the court’s order is available here.