Speaking of commandeering, today in Minnesota v. Trump, federal district court Judge Kate Menendez rejected Minnesota's request for an injunction against the Trump Administration's "Operation Metro Surge" immigration enforcement initiative in Minneapolis. Unlike my co-blogger Ilya Somin, I believe Judge Menendez was entirely correct to do so, as existing law does not remotely support Minnesota's claims.
As Judge Menendez recognized, the anti-commandeering doctrine is relatively narrow. It bars the federal government from issuing directives to state or local governments, Under the relevant cases, the federal government may not force state or local governments to administer or enforce a federal regulatory scheme or adopt federal law enforcement or regulatory priorities. For this reason, states are not obligated to assist the Department of Homeland Security in identifying, detaining, and deporting unlawfully present aliens any more than state or local law enforcement is required to assist the Drug Enforcement Agency in arresting and prosecuting those who use or possess (or even distribute) marijuana.
But the anti-commandeering doctrine does not prevent the federal government from pressuring states to cooperate, nor does it insulate states from the potentially burdensome or disruptive effects of federal law. Indeed, the relevant cases are quite clear on this. So, for example, New York v. United States held that it was permissible for the federal government to impose more stringent regulatory constraints and greater tax burdens on states that failed to address low-level radioactive waste in accord with the federal government's preferences. Under the Clean Air Act, states that fail to adopt and maintain adequate State Implementation Plans are not subject to injunctions, but can face more stringent offset requirements and direct federal regulation that promises to be more onerous and less sensitive to local concerns than state or local regulation would be. (Threatening highway funds, on the other hand, might be a bridge to far.)
