PROVIDENCE, RI – A Trump-appointed federal judge out of Rhode Island issued a ruling on Monday ordering the current administration to cease withholding disaster-related federal funds from states dubbed as sanctuary jurisdictions.
On December 22, U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy issued a ruling that could likely be seen as a setback against the Trump administration’s approach to garnering the sought-after collaboration on immigration enforcement efforts with reluctant states hosting what are known as sanctuary policies.
A band of 12 attorneys general filed suit against the Trump administration earlier in 2025 in response to the administration’s announced intentions to reduce federally allocated funding for disaster relief if various states continued to uphold their sanctuary policies.
As previously reported in Law Enforcement Today, these sanctuary policies are largely synonymous in function and utility across numerous states and localities. Typically, these adopted laws and policies forbid state and local authorities from meaningfully collaborating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other relevant federal agencies in the realm of immigration enforcement, with the most notable mechanism being the ignoring of issued immigration detainers.
Since the onset of Trump's second presidency, Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reportedly withheld upwards of $233 million in federal funding from states such as Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia over perceived utilization of sanctuary policies.
In Judge McElroy’s ruling, which reinstates the previously withheld federal funding, she called the actions of the Trump administration “troublesome” and an act of “wanton abuse.”
“Defendants’ wanton abuse of their role in federal grant administration is particularly troublesome given the fact that they have been entrusted with a most solemn duty: safeguarding our nation and its citizens,” Judge McElroy noted in her decision.
The federal judge’s ruling also called these actions “unlawful” and motivated by President Trump’s “political whims.”
Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated in response to the ruling, calling Judge McElroy’s ruling an act of “judicial sabotage” and emphasizing that the federal government is committed to continuing the legal battle.
“This judicial sabotage threatens the safety of our states, counties, towns, and weakens the entire nation,” Secretary McLaughlin stated, adding, “We will fight to restore these critical reforms and protect American lives.”
Judge McElroy was nominated to the court back in 2019 by President Trump during his first term in office. In his 2019 announcement naming McElroy and others sought to take up bench vacancies, President Trump highlighted her career milestones as a public defender for both state and federal courts within Rhode Island.
On December 22, U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy issued a ruling that could likely be seen as a setback against the Trump administration’s approach to garnering the sought-after collaboration on immigration enforcement efforts with reluctant states hosting what are known as sanctuary policies.
A band of 12 attorneys general filed suit against the Trump administration earlier in 2025 in response to the administration’s announced intentions to reduce federally allocated funding for disaster relief if various states continued to uphold their sanctuary policies.
As previously reported in Law Enforcement Today, these sanctuary policies are largely synonymous in function and utility across numerous states and localities. Typically, these adopted laws and policies forbid state and local authorities from meaningfully collaborating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other relevant federal agencies in the realm of immigration enforcement, with the most notable mechanism being the ignoring of issued immigration detainers.
Since the onset of Trump's second presidency, Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reportedly withheld upwards of $233 million in federal funding from states such as Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia over perceived utilization of sanctuary policies.
In Judge McElroy’s ruling, which reinstates the previously withheld federal funding, she called the actions of the Trump administration “troublesome” and an act of “wanton abuse.”
“Defendants’ wanton abuse of their role in federal grant administration is particularly troublesome given the fact that they have been entrusted with a most solemn duty: safeguarding our nation and its citizens,” Judge McElroy noted in her decision.
The federal judge’s ruling also called these actions “unlawful” and motivated by President Trump’s “political whims.”
Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated in response to the ruling, calling Judge McElroy’s ruling an act of “judicial sabotage” and emphasizing that the federal government is committed to continuing the legal battle.
“This judicial sabotage threatens the safety of our states, counties, towns, and weakens the entire nation,” Secretary McLaughlin stated, adding, “We will fight to restore these critical reforms and protect American lives.”
Judge McElroy was nominated to the court back in 2019 by President Trump during his first term in office. In his 2019 announcement naming McElroy and others sought to take up bench vacancies, President Trump highlighted her career milestones as a public defender for both state and federal courts within Rhode Island.
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