20 states sue Trump admin over immigration enforcement funding threats

A coalition of 20 Democratic attorneys general is suing President Trump's administration over threats to withhold billions of dollars in federal funding if they don't follow his immigration enforcement polices.The big picture: California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who's leading the two lawsuits, said at a Tuesday briefing threats to cut funds for emergency services and infrastructure maintenance represented "a blatantly illegal attempt to bully states" into enacting Trump's agenda.Driving the news: Trump signed executive orders last month directing federal agencies to document "sanctuary cities" that are not complying with his immigration agenda and the White House said those that failed to do so "may lose federal funding."The conditions would affect projects state projects including disaster relief, flood mitigation, and railroad, bridge and airport construction, the states argue in the lawsuits that were filed on Tuesday.Zoom in: One lawsuit that names Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA and others, argues the Trump administration's conditions on funding are "unconstitutional."They're also "beyond FEMA's legal authority because Congress appropriated the billions of federal dollars to help states prepare for, protect against, respond to and recover from catastrophic disasters," per a statement Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, one of the AGs suing the administration.The other suit naming Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the Department of Transportation makes a similar argument on the funding of critical infrastructure projects.States signed onto the suit include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai'i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.What they're saying: "We are experiencing creeping authoritarianism in this country, and as a people we must continue to resist," said Peter Neronha, attorney general of Rhode Island, where the lawsuit was filed, in a statement."Using the safety of Americans as collateral, the Trump Administration is once again illegally subverting the Congress, bullying the states to relinquish their right, ensured by the Constitution, to enact policies and laws that best serve their residents."The other side: "Americans would all be better off if these Democrat attorneys general focused on prosecuting criminals and working with the Trump administration to address the toll of gangster illegal aliens on their communities instead of playing political games," White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a media statement.Representatives for the Trump administration did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment in the evening.

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