Two new multi-state lawsuits: “We believe it’s a fundamental right for Oregon to set its own course”
Attorney General Dan Rayfield, with a coalition of 19 attorneys general, today filed two separate lawsuits against the Trump administration for attempting to illegally coerce their states into sweeping unlawful immigration enforcement by threatening to withhold billions in federal funding for emergency services and infrastructure.
“This is another attempt to place conditions on money by holding hostage our safe roads and public safety,” Rayfield said. “This is money Oregonians rely on for things like helping communities recover after wildfires, strengthening flood protection in places like Tillamook, and fixing roads and bridges.”
The coalition of attorneys general filed one lawsuit against the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. The coalition filed a second lawsuit against the Department of Transportation (DOT) and DOT Secretary Sean Duffy. Each agency has imposed new conditions that would require the states and state agencies to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts or lose out on billions of federal dollars that states use to protect public safety and transportation infrastructure.
The safety and well-being of Americans could be at risk if states are forced to forfeit hundreds of millions of dollars in federal emergency preparedness and response funds. Last year, the Oregon Department of Emergency Management alone received $243 million in federal funding from FEMA.
In their lawsuit against the DOT, Attorney General Rayfield and the coalition point out that imposing an immigration-enforcement condition on all federal transportation funds, which Congress appropriated to support critical infrastructure projects, is beyond the agency’s legal authority. Last year, the Oregon Department of Transportation received more than $728 million from DOT, which funded mainly federal highway projects.
“Oregon, like many states, has made its own choices about what’s important for our communities and how to use our state resources to achieve those goals. We believe it’s a fundamental right for Oregon to set its own course,” said Rayfield.
Joining Attorney General Rayfield in filing the lawsuits are attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin and Vermont.