When It Comes to D.E.I. and ICE, Trump Is Using Federal Grants as Leverage

During President Trump’s first months in office, officials in his administration have used the threat of withholding federal funding to bend institutions and municipalities to their ideological will.That strategy shows no signs of abating.The Department of Homeland Security is reviewing billions of dollars in grants for cities and states to make sure recipients comply with Mr.Trump’s priorities on immigration enforcement and diversity programs.Now grant beneficiaries must “honor requests for cooperation, such as participation in joint operations, sharing of information or requests for short-term detention of an alien pursuant to a valid detainer,” according to the terms and conditions for grants distributed by the department.The terms and conditions, which were first released last October and quietly updated in late March, also mandate that those who receive grants “will provide access to detainees, such as when an immigration officer seeks to interview a person who might be a removable alien.”“I see it as the beginning of the reshaping of our national emergency management infrastructure,” said Mark Ghilarducci, who previously served as California’s state emergency services director.

“Now it will be based upon ideology versus what is the actual need.”...