As published by the Christian Science Monitor
In a Christian Science Monitor article about the Trump administration’s most recent court battle over withholding federal funds from sanctuary cities, Professor Steven D. Schwinn discussed whether principles of federalism will prevent the government from withholding federal dollars from cities that do not comply with an executive order. To be constitutional, Schwinn noted that the Supreme Court has long ruled that any conditions attached to federal grants must be “unambiguously” stated in the text of the law so states can make an informed decision about whether to accept the federal funds.
“The right way to do it is to get Congress to do it with future grants, and do it clearly and unambiguously and in a way that doesn’t, in the language of the court, doesn’t coerce state and local governments, but rather gives them choice to either take grants with conditions or decline grants entirely,” Schwinn said.
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