Federal district judge rejects 'Duffy Directive' that ties DOT grants to immigration cooperation

A federal district judge rejected the attempt by Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy to withhold funding to states that seek to block President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts.

“Congress did not authorize or grant authority to the Secretary of Transportation to impose immigration enforcement conditions on federal dollars specifically appropriated for transportation purposes,” U.S. District Judge John McConnell wrote in the preliminary injunction. 

McConnell, who was appointed to the position by former President Barack Obama, said the 20 states suing the Trump administration over this issue will likely succeed in blocking Duffy’s efforts to restrict federal funding.

Duffy made the announcement in April that states would lose funding for various infrastructure projects, like roads and bridges, if they support diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and President Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts. 

That is when the Democratic state attorneys general filed the lawsuit, alleging that Duffy’s restrictions were beyond his authority.

McConnell is the same judge who said back in February that certain funds that Trump ordered withheld related to the Inflation Reduction Act and for agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) must be restored.