Minnesota, 19 other states sue Trump over funding cut threats, ‘creeping authoritarianism’

PROVIDENCE R I AP A coalition of state Democratic attorneys general including Minnesota s filed two federal lawsuits on Tuesday claiming that the Trump administration is threatening to withhold billions of dollars in transportation and disaster-relief funds unless states agree to certain immigration enforcement actions According to the complaints both Secretary of Homeland Measure Kristi Noem and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have threatened to cut off funding to states that refuse to comply with President Donald Trump s immigration agenda While no federal funding is in the present being withheld California Attorney General Rob Bonta commented during a news conference on Tuesday that the threat was imminent President Donald Trump can t use these funds as a bargaining chip as his way of ensuring states abide by his preferred policies Bonta added Department of Assistant Secretary of Homeland Prevention spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin revealed in a announcement that the lawsuit will not stop the Trump Administration from restoring the rule of law Cities and states who break the law and prevent us from arresting criminal illegal aliens should not receive federal funding The President has been clear on that she disclosed Duffy declared in a report that the states have filed the lawsuit because their leaders want to continue latest federal law and putting the requirements of illegal aliens above their own citizens Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced in a written report that decisions about how police tools are allocated should be made at the local leve It is both wrong and unlawful for the Trump Administration to demand Minnesota law enforcement step away from their patrols investigations and community-engagement work to instead enforce federal immigration law Ellison commented Furthermore it is deeply disturbing that the Trump Administration is threatening to withhold vital tragedy relief and general safety funds if we do not do their job for them Both lawsuits say that the Trump administration is violating the U S Constitution by trying to dictate federal spending when Congress has that power not the executive branch On April states received letters from the Department of Transportation stating that they must cooperate on immigration efforts and eliminate diversity equity and inclusion programs or danger losing funds New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin criticized the timing of Duffy s letter when Newark s airport struggles with radar outages and other issues I wish the administration would stop playing politics with people s lives Platkin reported I wish Secretary Duffy would do his damn job which is to make sure planes land on time not to direct immigration enforcement Related Walz Trump funding freeze amateur-hour cruelty Meanwhile on Feb states received letters from the Department of Homeland Prevention declaring that states that refuse to cooperate with refuse to share information with or even actively obstruct federal immigration enforcement reject these ideals and the history we share in common as Americans If any authorities entity chooses to thumb its nose at the Department of Homeland Assurance s national shield and constituents safety mission it should not receive a single dollar of the Department s money unless Congress has specifically required it Noem wrote in her letter Attorneys general behind the lawsuits include the following states California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Hawaii Illinois Maine Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Nevada New Jersey New Mexico New York Oregon Rhode Island Washington Wisconsin and Vermont Related Judge rules in Minneapolis St Paul s favor in barring Trump from denying funds to sanctuary cities The cases are being spearheaded by California but were filed in federal court in Rhode Island a detail that the attorneys general defended by saying they filed in any court that is going to be fair and objective and consider our factual presentation and legal analysis The lawsuits are the latest legal actions that Democratic-led states have taken against Trump since he took office earlier this year Bonta noted that California has filed more than lawsuits against the administration while Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha declared his state has launched more than a dozen While the lawsuits have challenged policies on tariffs federal employee firings and wellness care research Trump s focus on immigration enforcement and the mass deportation of immigrants in the United States illegally have received the greater part attention This has included the president s promise to mass deport people and the start of a registry required for all those who are in the country illegally What we re seeing is a creeping authoritarianism Neronha reported The post Minnesota other states sue Trump over funding cut threats creeping authoritarianism appeared first on MinnPost