20 Democratic attorneys general sue Trump administration over conditions
placed on federal funds
[May 14, 2025]
By KIMBERLEE KRUESI
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A coalition of 20 state Democratic attorneys
general 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 Security 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 currently being withheld, California
Attorney General Rob Bonta said 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 Security spokesperson
Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement 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 said.
Duffy said in a statement that the 20 states have filed the lawsuit
because “their officials want to continue breaking federal law and
putting the needs of illegal aliens above their own citizens.”
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 24, states received letters from the Department of
Transportation stating that they must cooperate on immigration efforts
and eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs or risk 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 said. “I wish Secretary Duffy would do his damn job,
which is to make sure planes land on time, not to direct immigration
enforcement.”
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Meanwhile, on Feb. 24, states received letters from the Department
of Homeland Security 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 government entity chooses to thumb its nose at the
Department of Homeland Security’s national security and public
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.
The cases are being spearheaded by California and Illinois, but they
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 20 lawsuits against
the administration, while Rhode Island Attorney General Peter
Neronha said his state has launched more than a dozen.
While the lawsuits have challenged policies on tariffs, federal
employee firings and health care research, Trump's focus on
immigration enforcement and the mass deportation of immigrants in
the United States illegally have received the most 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 said.
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