New York City and seven states — New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington, Massachusetts, Virginia and Rhode Island — sued in 2018 for withholding funding.
A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that the Justice Department can refuse to give crime-fighting money to cities and states that consider themselves sanctuaries and refuse to share information with federal immigration authorities.
"It recognizes the lawful authority of the Attorney General to ensure that Department of Justice grant recipients are not at the same time thwarting federal law enforcement priorities," A Justice Department spokesman said in praising the ruling. Federal law has long prohibited local governments from refusing to share information about the citizenship status of people they arrest or jail after convictions. Immigration agents say they need to know who in local jails is in the US illegally, so those people can be deported after they've served their sentences.
The grant program at issue provides around $250 million a year to help fund investigative task forces, improve 911 call systems and crime laboratories, and reduce gang violence in prison. Wednesday's ruling says the law setting up the grant program gives the attorney general authority to set the conditions for qualifying to receive the money.
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