On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. Part of this order was a directive to the U.S. attorney general and the secretary of Homeland Security to “evaluate and undertake any lawful actions to ensure that so-called ‘sanctuary’ jurisdictions . . . do not receive access to Federal funds.”
Consequently, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a letter to all recipients of Depart of Transportation (DOT) funding to “clarify and reaffirm pertinent legal requirements … and to provide a reminder of your responsibilities and the consequences of noncompliance with Federal law.” The letter explains that “your legal obligations require cooperation generally with Federal authorities in the enforcement of Federal law, including cooperating with and not impeding U.S. Immigration Customers Enforcement (ICE).”
You may recall that AGC of America previously reported that a group of 20 states sued the department alleging the policy was unlawful, arbitrary, and unconstitutional. The government contended in its defense that the policy required no more than compliance with existing federal law and therefore could not be unlawful.
On November 4, 2025, Judge John J. McConnell Jr. ruled that the imposition of such conditions on transportation funding is indeed unlawful, arbitrary, and unconstitutional. The primary reason for the decision was that the statutes that authorize the funding do not authorize DOT to impose broad conditions unrelated to transportation objectives.
AGC has previously reported on the president’s ability to withhold funds appropriated by Congress. For more information, click here.
What Happens Next?
Judge McConnell issued broad relief in his ruling, vacating the imposition of those conditions on any existing DOT-administered grant programs as well as barring DOT from imposing such conditions on any program going forward. This holding will persist during the appeals process, if the department decides to do so.
For more information, contact Spencer Phillips.