A federal judge in Rhode Island ruled on November 4, 2026 that the Justice Department cannot require 22 states and the District of Columbia to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement as a condition of receiving certain public-safety grants.
The ruling
Chief U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. ruled from the bench in State of New Jersey v. United States Department of Justice, No. 1:25-cv-00404. He invalidated the challenged conditions for the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program and grants administered by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and imposed a permanent injunction against enforcing those conditions.
The federal government had required grant recipients to give immigration authorities access to certain people in state custody and notify the Department of Homeland Security when they were released. The states argued that Congress did not authorize the Justice Department to attach such conditions to formula-based grants.
What changes
The ruling protects the plaintiff states from these particular funding conditions. It does not prevent ICE from enforcing immigration law, change anyone's immigration status, or prohibit cooperation authorized by other laws. The decision addresses federal grant conditions, not individual deportation proceedings.
The dispute began in 2025 over Victims of Crime Act funding. After the government dropped those conditions, similar requirements appeared in other grant programs, prompting the states to expand their lawsuit. Byrne Justice Assistance Grant funding was not decided in this ruling because a prior injunction already addressed similar conditions.
What happens next
The Justice Department may appeal. Reuters reported the decision from the bench on November 4; the precise language of the written judgment should be checked when it becomes available.
Sources: Reuters, November 4, 2026; Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, case 1:25-cv-00404.