A new order revives an old battle about how much an administration is allowed to coerce cities and states by withholding money.The New York Times reports that a recent order issued by the new U.S. Department of Transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, has reignited a longstanding legal battle over the extent to which the federal government can use funding as a means of coercing cities and states. The order threatens to redirect federal transportation funds away from local governments that do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. This issue first arose during President Trump’s term, when he attempted to withhold law enforcement grants from Democratic-led cities and states that had policies refusing to assist federal agents in identifying and deporting undocumented immigrants. However, these lawsuits were not fully resolved by the end of his term. The current order has the potential to affect a much larger amount of funding, as the Department of Transportation provides billions of dollars annually to states and local governments for various transportation projects. Legal experts believe that the larger scale of funding at stake may make it even less likely for courts to support the federal government’s actions. While the full intent of the order is unclear, it could potentially harm transit systems in major cities, as they tend to have sanctuary policies. However, if the federal government were to block funding to entire states with sanctuary policies, it could also impact the roads, highways, and transit used by millions of rural Americans. The transportation department has not clarified if it intends to block funds to sanctuary cities and states, but the order itself states that projects may be prioritized if they require local compliance or cooperation with immigration enforcement.
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