MANHATTAN — THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY MUST PAY NEW YORK THE COUNTERTERRORISM FUNDS ALLOCATED FOR TRANSIT that the federal government had already committed, ruled U.S. District Court Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, Southern District of New York on Thursday, Oct. 16. Judge Kaplan’s decision places a permanent injunction against DHS after extending a temporary restraining order late Wednesday.

Judge Kaplan’s ruling begins with an acknowledgment of the ongoing security risk to New York, particularly its transit system, since the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, citing eight plots against the subway alone. He also points out that the DHS’ rationale for rescinding the money was New York’s being a sanctuary city. He wrote his 28-page ruling, “Having considered all of the evidence, this Court now holds that the withholding of these funds is arbitrary, capricious, and a blatant violation of the law. It grants a permanent injunction requiring the federal government to grant those funds to the MTA.”

Judge Kaplan found that DHS’ justification for rescinding the funds is arbitrary and capricious “for at least three independent reasons,” the first of which dealt with Congress’ use of the phrase “select the recipients of grants based solely on risk,” when appropriating the funds, giving DHS no latitude on this criterion.

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