US Transportation Dept Drops ICE Cooperation Requirement

6400 series Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) bus. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is dropping a threat to withhold transportation funding from state and local governments that don’t cooperate with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement.

In April, USDOT Sec. Sean Duffy announced the agency would withhold federal transportation funding from state and local governments that did not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, specifically U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

In May, Wisconsin and 21 other states sued the federal agency, arguing transportation and immigration enforcement are unrelated and the Trump administration was attempting to “unlawfully usurp” congressional authority over spending. By attempting to condition transportation spending on cooperation with immigration enforcement, the USDOT was effectively attempting to rewrite federal laws passed by Congress, the states argued.

Congress provides more than $100 billion annually for state and local governments to maintain transportation infrastructure. Of that, approximately $1 billion goes to Wisconsin each year.

In November, U.S. District Judge John McConnell ruled that the USDOT was violating the Constitution, writing, “Defendants have blatantly overstepped their statutory authority, violated the APA, and transgressed well-settled constitutional limitations on federal funding conditions. The Constitution demands the Court set aside this lawless behavior.”

Initially, the USDOT appealed the ruling, but last week the agency dropped its appeal, allowing McConnell’s order to stand. It is now barred by the court order from withholding funding from state or local governments for failing to cooperate with immigration enforcement.

“I’m glad that the Trump administration is seeking to put an end to its defense of this lawlessness,” Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said in a statement. “It’s too bad that it took legal action to get the administration to simply comply with the law.”

Milwaukee County uses federal transportation funds to maintain roadways and bridges. The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) similarly uses federal transportation grants to fund new bus purchases and maintain transit infrastructure. The county was recently awarded a $25 million grant by USDOT for road safety projects.

“It’s good news that the Trump administration will not be able to restrict local control through unnecessary conditions on USDOT grants. Milwaukee County has always followed all requirements on how state and federal grant funding is allocated and used throughout the community,” Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said in a statement to Urban Milwaukee. “My administration plans to continue this track record as we keep working to invest in public transit, safer streets, and transportation infrastructure and services to enhance the quality of life for working families across Milwaukee County.”

DEI programs also targeted

When Duffy and the USDOT tried to tie immigration to transportation funding, the agency also included language threatening to pull funding from governments with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs that violate federal anti-discrimination laws. In the April letter transportation agencies, Duffy said their personnel policies cannot “discriminate based on prohibited categories.”

At the time of the letter, the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation told Urban Milwaukee it was “in compliance with the law.”