Overview

• U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy in Rhode Island issued a preliminary injunction on Sept. 10 blocking enforcement of the policies in the states that sued.
• The order pauses directives from the Education, Justice, Health and Human Services, and Labor departments that sought to limit access for certain immigrants.
• The injunction allows programs such as Head Start, adult education, homeless shelters, mental health services, soup kitchens, and crisis hotlines to continue serving clients without new status checks in those states.
• State lawyers warned the policies would force widespread immigration verification and create chilling effects, while the judge questioned the feasibility and potential unfunded mandate on local providers.
• Federal officials defended the directives as implementing a presidential order to prevent benefits to “unqualified aliens,” but enforcement that had been set to begin Sept. 11 is now on hold during the litigation.