Article snippet: A federal appeals court upheld a nationwide injunction that blocked the Trump administration from linking a federal grant program to cooperation with immigration enforcement Thursday. The program, known as the Byrne JAG grant, is the “primary provider” of federal criminal justice funding to state and local governments, according to the court. Attorney General Jeff Sessions had tied the funds to grant recipient’s compliance with three conditions. "From now on, the department will only provide Byrne JAG grants to cities and states that comply with federal law, allow federal immigration access to detention facilities and provide 48 hours notice before they release an illegal alien wanted by federal authorities," Sessions wrote in a July statement. The City of Chicago argued that it was “unlawful and unconstitutional.” A lower court agreed to two of the three conditions, issuing a nationwide injunction. The appellate court upheld that decision Thursday. “The attorney general in this case used the sword of federal funding to conscript state and local authorities to aid in federal civil immigration enforcement," the court wrote in its opinion. "But the power of the purse rests with Congress, which authorized the federal funds at issue and did not impose any immigration enforcement conditions on the receipt of such funds." A DOJ spokesman, however, said that the department acted with proper authority. “The Justice Department believes it exercised its a... Link to the full article to read more