PROVIDENCE (AP) – A federal judge has sided with two Rhode Island cities that challenged the conditions of U.S. Department of Justice public safety grants they said in a lawsuit would turn local police into federal immigration agents.
District Court Judge John McConnell Jr. in a ruling Thursday said “Congress has not granted the power to impose the conditions the DOJ imposed.”
The federal government, among other things, wanted cities receiving public safety grants to notify federal agents when immigrants in the country illegally are about to be released.
Attorneys for Providence and Central Falls in a statement said they are pleased the court “found DOJ’s attempts requiring our police departments to be agents of a federal immigration system to be unlawful.”
A Justice Department spokeswoman in an email said the agency had no comment.
