Story at a glance
- The Justice Department has repealed a Trump-era policy that cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to cities who failed to fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
- Office of Justice Programs Maureen Henneberg said in an internal memo viewed by Reuters that the $250 million law enforcement grants will no longer be conditioned upon cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
- The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants program, named for an officer killed while on duty, is the DOJ’s primary source of reimbursement to local agencies to pay for a slew of programs.
The Justice Department (DOJ) has repealed a Trump era policy that cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to cities who failed to fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Acting head of the Office of Justice Programs Maureen Henneberg said in an internal memo viewed by Reuters that the $250 million law enforcement grants will no longer be conditioned upon cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Henneberg is also removing any other application with immigration conditions attached, telling her staff “pull down and revise all solicitations that describe requirements or priority consideration elements or criteria pertaining to immigration.”
Illegal immigration was a focal point of then-President Trump’s term in office that was met with consistent resistance from local governments. Several states, including New York, litigated the issue, arguing that it was unlawful to withhold funding, according to the outlet. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Trump administration in 2020.
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The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants program, named for an officer killed while on duty, is the DOJ’s primary source of reimbursement to local agencies to pay for a slew of programs, according to Reuters. The program allocated more than $250 million in grants in fiscal year 2020.
Cooperation with federal authorities was made a requirement in 2017 when then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions attached the funding to stipulations that would allow federal authorities to determine the immigration status of detainees who were in jail, CNN reported.
Immigration-related criteria will no longer be a factor on any DOJ grant applications, according to Reuters.
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