USDOT drops case after court’s decision to block it from withholding funds over immigration enforcement

The Department of Transportation has dropped its appeal of a court decision ruling that it cannot withhold funding over immigration enforcement. 

The USDOT filed a motion to dismiss the appeal on Tuesday, January 13th. The initial court decision was made back in November, when Chief U.S. District Judge John McConnell determined that the DOT had “blatantly overstepped” their position by linking the funding of state roads, bridges, and highways to immigration policy enforcement, reported Politico.

“I am pleased that the Trump Administration has accepted defeat and agreed to drop its appeal of this decision,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta, one of 21 states who worked against DOTs attempt to halt funding over immigration enforcement. 

This funding withholding attempt is separate from Duffy’s recent vow to cancel $160 million in funding for California after the state missed the deadline to cancel 17,000 non domiciled CDLs, and recent funding threats to North Carolina.