Maryland signs on to two more lawsuits against Trump administration

Maryland went back to court against the Trump administration again Tuesday, saying an administration plan to withhold funds from states that do not comply with White House immigration policy amounts to a “grant-funding hostage scheme.”

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown was one of 20 Democratic attorneys general who filed the lawsuits in U.S. District Court for Rhode Island against the departments of Transportation and Homeland Security.

Both suits say the administration does not have authority to withhold funds and that the lawsuits aim “to prevent the Trump Administration from trying to strong-arm them [states] into participating in federal immigration enforcement by threatening to cut off billions of dollars” in funding.

One suit names the U.S. Department of Transportation and Secretary Sean Duffy, and the other names the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Kristi Noem.

Brown has already led or joined more than two dozen suits and amicus briefs since President Donald Trump was sworn into office Jan. 20. His office joined three last week along, including one that said the administration illegally withheld about $3 billion in previously approved funds for electric-vehicle infrastructure.

Trump orders list of ‘sanctuary cities’ to target for funding freeze

The suits filed Tuesday said Maryland received more than $42 million in federal money from FEMA last year, and that the state typically receives more than $1 billion a year in federal funding for transportation infrastructure, the state annually receives at least $1 billion.

“Our message on these lawsuits is straightforward: Maryland law, as passed by the General Assembly in 2021, clearly recognizes the federal government’s primary role in immigration enforcement while setting limits on state and local cooperation,” Brown said in a statement. “The Attorney General joined this action because the federal government is attempting to force Maryland to act against its own laws.”

On his first day in office Jan. 20, President Donald Trump (R) signed an executive order to direct the Homeland Security secretary go after so-called “sanctuary” cities and states that allegedly protect immigrants.

Administration officials were not backing down from those positions in the face of Tuesday’s lawsuits.

“The President has been clear on that,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs with Homeland Security, said in an emailed statement Tuesday. “Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS is working to end violations of federal immigration law and remove criminal illegal aliens from American communities.”

McLaughlin continued: “Radical sanctuary politicians need to put the safety of the American people first—not criminal illegal aliens. The Trump Administration is committed to restoring the rule of law. No lawsuit, not this one or any other, is going to stop us from doing that.”

Duffy, in a prepared statement released by his office Tuesday, said the “20 states are challenging the terms of their grant agreements because their officials want to continue breaking Federal law and putting the needs of illegal aliens above their own citizens.”

“No funding has been withheld,” his statement said. “What my Department has done is remind grant recipients that by accepting federal funds, they are required to adhere to federal laws.

But Gov. Wes Moore (D) backed Brown on the lawsuits, and said the state will continue to defend itself against “any threat.”

“By forcing states to divert limited resources from protecting local communities, we stand to compromise the significant progress we have made on public safety over the last several years — including some of the most impressive crime drops in the entire country,” Moore said.

“The bottom line is this: threatening our security and transportation funding creates unnecessary risks, makes us less able to respond to disasters, and makes us less safe,” he said.

The suit against Homeland Security claims it’s forcing states to use “scarce” law enforcement and other state resources to follow federal civil immigration enforcement.

The DOT suit cites an April 24 letter from Duffy that requires all federal funding recipients cooperate in enforcing federal immigration law.

The lawsuit said states “would be unable to obtain compensation for the harms they would suffer as a consequence of an abrupt and unlawful denial of funding. The unlawful condition also inflicts additional irreparable harm on the States by infringing their sovereign rights, damaging public trust, and harming public safety.”