New York, et al. v. Department of Justice, et al.

Congress enacted the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) program, codified at 34 U.S.C. §§ 10151-10158, to provide funding for state and local criminal justice priorities. The Byrne JAG statute sets aside funds for every State and major city through a statutory formula based on population and crime rates, and directs that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) “shall . . . allocate” funds according to that formula. Id. § 10156(a), (b)(2), (d). In 2017, DOJ declared that it would withhold Byrne JAG funding from any jurisdiction that did not accept three new conditions of DOJ’s own design. The conditions require state and local government grant recipients to (1) respond to ad hoc requests from federal officials for the release dates of non-citizens in grantees’ custody; (2) provide federal agents with access to grantees’ jails and police stations in order to question suspected non-citizens; and (3) certify compliance with 8 U.S.C. § 1373, which purports to prohibit state and local governments from regulating when their employees may share information with federal officials regarding a person’s citizenship or immigration status. The First, Third, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits have held that Congress did not authorize DOJ to impose the new conditions. The Second Circuit reached the opposite conclusion. The question presented is: Did Congress authorize DOJ to condition Byrne JAG funding on acceptance of DOJ’s three new requirements?