According to the complaints, both Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have threatened to cut off funding to states that refuse to comply with President Donald Trump's immigration agenda.
"President Donald Trump can't use these funds as a bargaining chip as his way of ensuring states abide by his preferred policies," Bonta added.
Both lawsuits say that the Trump administration is violating the U.S. Constitution by trying to dictate federal spending when Congress has that power — not the executive branch.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin criticized the timing of Duffy's letter when Newark's airport struggles with radar outages and other issues.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul also criticized the administration, calling those funds, "quite literally, lifesaving."
Meanwhile, on Feb. 24, states received letters from the Department of Homeland Security declaring that states that "refuse to cooperate with, refuse to share information with, or even actively obstruct federal immigration enforcement reject these ideals and the history we share in common as Americans."
Attorneys general behind the lawsuits include the following states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai'i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin and Vermont.
"These funds are meant to repair aging roads and bridges, strengthen public safety, and ensure law enforcement has the tools they need to act quickly in emergency situations. By clawing back this already-allocated funding, Donald Trump's White House is prioritizing political posturing over the safety and well-being of Americans," added Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
The lawsuits are the latest legal actions that Democratic-led states have taken against Trump since he took office earlier this year. Bonta noted that California has filed more than 20 lawsuits against the administration, while Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said his state has launched more than a dozen.
This has included the president's promise to mass deport people to the start of a registry required for all those who are in the country illegally.
"What we're seeing is a creeping authoritarianism," Neronha said.
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