Attorney General Neronha, coalition secure permanent injunction to stop illegal conditions from placed on billions in federal transportation funding

Published on Tuesday, November 04, 2025

Attorney General Neronha today released the following statement after a Rhode Island court granted a permanent injunction against the Trump administration for illegally imposing immigration conditions on billions of federal dollars appropriated by Congress to support critical infrastructure projects.

In issuing a permanent injunction, the Court found that the Trump Administration has "blatantly overstepped their statutory authority, violated the APA, and transgressed well-settled constitutional limitations on federal funding conditions. The Constitution demands the Court set aside this lawless behavior."

"The President cannot force states to acquiesce their rights in exchange for critical infrastructure funding, and today a Rhode Island Court ordered it so," said Attorney General Neronha. "It should go without saying that the ability of Rhode Islanders to travel on safe roads and bridges cannot hang on the political whims of one man. That said, Americans everywhere should recognize a couple of trends emerging here. First, we are winning these lawsuits in nearly every case, because we are right on the law. Secondly, this President will always prioritize his interests over those of the American people, regardless of the law. I am thankful to Judge McConnell for his decision here, and we will continue the fight on behalf of Americans everywhere."

The final ruling follows multistate litigationand a preliminary injunction.

Attorney General Neronha co-led this lawsuit with the attorneys general from California, Illinois, Mayland, and New Jersey. They are joined by the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai'i, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, and Vermont.

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