Judge Bars Immigration Strings on Police Grants for 22 States and DC

Chief U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. of Rhode Island ruled Wednesday that the Justice Department exceeded its authority when it required states to help federal immigration enforcement in order to receive public safety grants, according to the Jersey Vindicator and the Oregon Department of Justice.

The judge struck the immigration requirements and permanently barred the federal government from enforcing them against the states that sued, the Oregon attorney general’s office said. The order covers the plaintiff states, not every grant recipient nationwide.

Conditions the states challenged

To get the money, the administration had required recipients to give federal immigration authorities access to people held in state custody, warn federal officials before those people were released and follow rules on sharing immigration-related information, the Jersey Vindicator reported.

The grants include the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program, a main federal source of money for police departments, prosecutors and crime prevention, along with crisis intervention and juvenile justice funds. New Jersey was allocated about $4.2 million in Byrne grants for fiscal 2025 and $2.7 million for crisis intervention, according to court documents cited by the Vindicator. Oregon expects $667,119 this year for youth programs, its justice department said.

New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, who helped lead the coalition, said the ruling shows “the federal government cannot unlawfully politicize law enforcement and public safety by threatening our access to critical funding.”

Background of the lawsuit

The fight began in 2025, when the administration attached similar requirements to more than $1.3 billion in Victims of Crime Act money. The states sued, and the government dropped those conditions. The Justice Department then placed comparable terms on other grants, and the states amended their complaint on Aug. 21 to challenge them, arguing Congress never authorized the conditions and that they amount to unconstitutional coercion.

Appeal route

The Justice Department can ask the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the decision. The sources did not report whether it plans to do so.

Sources: Jersey Vindicator, Oregon Department of Justice.