Trump Unveils $3 Billion U.S. Critical Minerals Push 
US Customs Inspects China-Linked Factories in Vietnam Amid Trade Compliance Review 
California ICE Detention Center Found to Have Inadequate Medical Care, Court Monitor Says 
US Watchdog Finds State Department Struggled After USAID Shutdown Takeover 
Trump Says U.S.-Iran Talks Progressing as Hopes Rise for Strait of Hormuz Reopening 
Judge Approves Anthropic’s $1.5 Billion AI Copyright Settlement With Authors 
Meta Ordered to Pay $567M Over Child Safety Violations in New Mexico 
Appeals Court Rejects Trump Bid to Reinstate $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee 
Canada, US Hold Constructive Trade Talks as Tariff Negotiations Continue 
Lebanon Lawyers Seek Probe Into Banker Over Alleged Netanyahu Dinner in Washington 
SEC Moves to Dismiss Insider Trading Case Against Trump-Pardoned Terren Peizer 
Brazil Supreme Court Tightens Jair Bolsonaro House Arrest Ahead of Election 
US Continues Ukraine Patriot Missile Production Talks Despite Trump Doubts 
Trump Education Department Removes Disparate Impact Rules, Sparking Civil Rights Backlash 
Trump Administration Weighs Executive Order on Vaccines and Autism Research 
Trump Administration Imposes New Forced Labor Tariffs on 60 Trading Partners 
Johnson & Johnson Proposes $5.5 Billion Talc Settlement to Resolve U.S. Ovarian Cancer Lawsuits 
A U.S. federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from tying transportation funding to immigration enforcement compliance. On Thursday, Chief U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island ruled that the U.S. Department of Transportation lacked legal authority to demand cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a condition for federal transportation grants.
The decision came after 20 Democratic-led states sued the administration, arguing that the policy unlawfully pressured them to align with Trump’s hardline immigration agenda. These states, along with their cities and counties, opposed the April 24 directive by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, which threatened to withhold funding unless local governments assisted federal immigration officers.
Judge McConnell, an Obama appointee, issued a preliminary injunction, emphasizing that there was no legitimate connection between immigration cooperation and the congressional purpose of the grants—namely, infrastructure development like highways and bridges. He wrote that Congress did not give the Transportation Secretary the authority to impose such immigration-related conditions.
Since returning to office on January 20, Trump had signed multiple executive orders aimed at penalizing sanctuary jurisdictions—areas that limit cooperation with ICE—by cutting off federal funds. The lawsuit is part of a broader legal pushback against these executive actions.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta praised the ruling, calling it a win for state rights and infrastructure development. “Trump was using transportation funds as leverage to force compliance with his immigration policies,” Bonta said.
The 20 states are also pursuing a related case challenging similar restrictions imposed by the Department of Homeland Security on other federal grant programs.
This ruling reinforces legal limits on federal power to coerce states on immigration enforcement and underscores the ongoing legal clash between sanctuary policies and federal mandates.
