Judge Orders Homeland Security to Restore $34 Million in Security Funding to NYC

The Trump administration previously warned that funds could be withheld over the city’s ’sanctuary' policies that shield illegal immigrants.

Police stand outside the Broadway-Lafayette subway station where Jordan Neely was fatally choked by a fellow passenger a week ago on May 10, 2023, in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A federal judge has permanently blocked the the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from withholding around $34 million in funding to New York City’s transportation system that is meant to prevent terrorist attacks.

In a ruling issued on Oct. 16, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan argued that the Trump administration’s decision to withhold the funding because of the city’s status as a “sanctuary jurisdiction,” which blocks city cooperation with federal law enforcement in immigration enforcement efforts, was “arbitrary, capricious, and a blatant violation of the law.”

The order “grants a permanent injunction requiring the federal government to grant those funds to the MTA,” the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that operates in New York City and its metropolitan area. The judge had previously issued an order temporarily freezing the move.

A Transit Security Grant Program that was initiated following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks was cited by Kaplan in granting the injunction. He said the program was created with instructions that money be allocated solely on the basis of terrorism risk.

“Among the City’s foremost targets are its bridges, tunnels, and subway and commuter rail systems. The subways alone have been the subject of at least eight terrorist plots since September 11,” the judge also said, citing New York City’s police commissioner.

Kaplan further wrote that the “government’s view appears to be that the president unilaterally can deobligate grants to and reobligate grants among grantees, but ... there is no statutory or other authority for such a position.”

New York state sued Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after they said last month that they were eliminating funding for the MTA.

A FEMA official disclosed in a court filing that the transit authority “did not receive funding because the applicant is based in New York City, a designated Sanctuary Jurisdiction city.”

The recent decision was hailed by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James.

“This ruling protecting critical counterterrorism funding is a victory for every New Yorker who rides our subways, buses, and commuter rails,“ they said in a joint statement. ”A court has once again affirmed that this administration cannot punish New York by arbitrarily wiping out critical security resources and defunding law enforcement that keeps riders safe. We will always fight to ensure that New York gets the resources we need to support our law enforcement and keep people safe.”

Since taking office, the Trump administration has targeted sanctuary jurisdictions because they refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. In February, the administration said it would produce a list of sanctuary jurisdictions and that those “that do not comply with federal law may lose federal funding.”

In February, President Donald Trump signed an order to ensure that federal money doesn’t support sanctuary policies or “assist illegal immigration.”

But earlier this month, Trump announced a reversal. “I am pleased to advise that I reversed the cuts made to Homeland Security and Counterterrorism for New York City and State. It was my Honor to do so,” he wrote in a Truth Social post.

The Epoch Times contacted DHS for additional comment Thursday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.