On February 15, 2019, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit ruled in City of Philadelphia v. Attorney General of the United States that the Trump administration could not deny funds to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, because of its immigration policies.

 

Judge Marjorie Rendell, a Bill Clinton appointee, wrote in the opinion that “the Attorney General did not have statutory authority to impose” the JAG grant compliance requirements. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) grants JAG funds annually to states and cities to support local law enforcement.

 

The 3rd Circuit’s ruling upheld an earlier ruling from U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson, a George W. Bush appointee, of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. On June 6, 2018, Baylson ruled that Philadelphia was entitled to receive prompt JAG funds and the Trump administration’s attempt to withhold funds from the city “violate[d] statutory and constitutional law.”

 

On July 25, 2017, the DOJ announced two new requirements for the JAG grants and said applicants who did not meet the requirements would be ineligible to receive funds. The new conditions required applicants to comply with federal laws on immigration, particularly through local communication with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security regarding undocumented immigrants.

 

Philadelphia first filed a lawsuit against the DOJ’s new JAG grant compliance requirements on August 20, 2017. Several other cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City, also filed legal challenges to the requirements.