A coalition of 20 states sued the Trump administration over its threats to withhold funding from states that do not comply with federal immigration policy. 

Last month, President Donald Trump signed executive orders directing federal agencies to make note of “sanctuary cities” in noncompliance with his immigration agenda. The order states that states or cities that fail to do so “may lose federal funding.”

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California Attorney General Rob Bonta leads the coalition with two lawsuits against the order. He claimed Trump does not have “the authority to unlawfully coerce state and local governments into using their resources for federal immigration enforcement — and his latest attempt to bully them into doing so is blatantly illegal.”

“Let’s be clear about what’s happening here: The President is threatening to yank funds to improve our roads, keep our planes in the air, prepare for emergencies, and protect against terrorist attacks if states do not fall in line with his demands. He’s treating these funds, which have nothing to do with immigration enforcement and everything to do with the safety of our communities, as a bargaining chip,” Bonta said in a statement.

One lawsuit was filed against the Department of Homeland Security, its secretary, Kristi Noem, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It argues that the administration’s conditions on funding are unconstitutional, as Congress has already appropriated the funds.

The other lawsuit was filed against the Department of Transportation and its secretary, Sean Duffy, making a similar case against the restriction of funding for critical infrastructure projects.

“We are experiencing creeping authoritarianism in this country, and as a people we must continue to resist,” Peter Neronha, attorney general of Rhode Island, where both lawsuits are filed, said in a statement.

DEMOCRATIC ATTORNEYS GENERAL EMERGE AS SOME OF THE ONLY REAL RESISTANCE AGAINST TRUMP 2.0

“Using the safety of Americans as collateral, the Trump Administration is once again illegally subverting the Congress, bullying the states to relinquish their right, ensured by the Constitution, to enact policies and laws that best serve their residents,” the statement continued.

The states that signed the lawsuits are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. Each state has a Democratic attorney general and governor, save for Nevada and Vermont, which have Republican governors.