Federal court blocks DOT directive tying transportation funds to immigration cooperation; Madison staff outline local budget exposure to federal cuts

A federal district court issued a preliminary injunction last week prohibiting the U.S. Department of Transportation from enforcing a recent directive that would have conditioned federal transportation funds on local cooperation with immigration enforcement, City of Madison legal staff told the Finance Committee on June 23.

Attorney Mike Hass summarized the court action, saying the injunction “prohibits the federal government from implementing that directive” and from withholding federal transportation funds or taking adverse actions against jurisdictions based on the directive. Hass noted the State of Wisconsin joined the lawsuit and the court applied the decision to the parties in that case, which the city interprets as including Madison.

Why it matters: the injunction removes a legal pathway by which the federal government would have sought to withhold…