NEW YORK – The Trump administration can block states from receiving Justice Department grants if they fail to help with federal immigration enforcement, a U.S. appeals court in Manhattan ruled, in a significant win that sets up a possible Supreme Court showdown.
Six states including Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey sued in 2018 claiming the U.S. was trying to coerce states and cities into enforcing the administration’s immigration policies by illegally threatening to withhold federal criminal justice grants. A federal judge ordered the government to release funds withheld under the policy and blocked it from imposing immigration-related restrictions on the funds, known as Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants.
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“We conclude that the plain language of the relevant statutes authorizes the attorney general to impose the challenged conditions,” U.S. Circuit Judge Reena Raggi wrote on behalf of a three-judge panel of the court.
The ruling on Wednesday goes against other federal appeals courts, which have limited the government’s power to block the funds, setting up a possible review by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Manhattan court disagreed with rulings in similar cases by appeals courts based in Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco upholding lower-court orders blocking some or all of the challenged conditions.
The ruling comes on the anniversary of the murder of the grants’ namesake, 22-year-old New York City police officer Edward Byrne, who was shot to death in his patrol car in 1988 while guarding a cooperating witness in a drug case.
The states challenged a Justice Department policy that required Byrne grant recipients to certify that they would provide information to immigration authorities, let the department know of release dates of illegal immigrants serving time for crimes and give immigration officers access to illegal immigrants in prison.
Byrne grants account for about $400 million of the Justice Department’s budget. They provide funding for “critical gaps” in state and local crime prevention programs, according to the Justice Department’s website. In 2019, the funds were available for overtime pay for officers and to help buy bulletproof vests and body cameras, among other uses. There was $269 million available in fiscal year 2018 under the program.
The release of the ruling on the anniversary of Byrne’s murder may have been more than coincidence.
“The case is well known in this circuit, where five persons were convicted in the Eastern District of New York for their roles in Byrne’s murder,” wrote Raggi, who was a judge on the Brooklyn, New York-based court at the time. Raggi was appointed to the appeals court by President George W. Bush in 2002.
The case is State of New York v. U.S. Department of Justice, 19-267, Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (Manhattan).
Both Providence and Central Falls have declared themselves sanctuary cities.
The nine eligible Rhode Island municipalities receiving the fiscal year 2017 Byrne JAG program grants were:
- Providence: $211,879
- Pawtucket: 57,224
- Woonsocket: $46,801
- Central Falls: $29,286
- Cranston: $24,465
- Newport: $17,727
- Warwick: $14,962
- West Warwick: $13,331
- East Providence: $12,693
Bob Van Voris and Chris Dolmetsch are reporters for Bloomberg News. PBN contributed to this article.
