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Friday, February 6, 2026

Takeaways from AP report on immigrant who says ICE officers beat him during Minnesota arrest

February 06, 2026
Takeaways from AP report on immigrant who says ICE officers beat him during Minnesota arrest

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Alberto Castañeda Mondragón's memory was jumbled after he says he was badly beaten last month while being taken into custody byimmigration officers. He did not remember much of his past, but the violence of the Jan. 8 arrest in Minnesota was seared into his battered brain.

Associated Press Alberto Castañeda Mondragón poses for a portrait at an apartment Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave) Alberto Castañeda Mondragón poses for a portrait at an apartment Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave) Alberto Castañeda Mondragón poses for a portrait at an apartment Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)

Immigration Enforcement Minnesota Hospital

The Mexican immigrant told The Associated Press this week that he remembers Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents pulling him from a friend's car outside aSt. Paulshopping center and throwing him to the ground, handcuffing him, and then punching him and striking his head with a steel baton.

He remembers being taken to a detention facility, where he said he was beaten again. Then came the emergency room and the intense pain from eight skull fractures and five life-threatening brain hemorrhages.

Castañeda Mondragón, 31, is one of an unknown number of immigration detainees who, despite avoiding deportation, have been left with lasting injuries following violent encounters with ICE. While the Trump administration insists ICE limits its enforcement operations to immigrants with violent rap sheets, he has no criminal record.

Here's what to know about the case, one of the excessive-force claims the federal government has thus far declined to investigate.

Immigrant says attack was unprovoked

ICE officers who arrested Castañeda Mondragón on Jan. 8 told nurses the man "purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall," an account Hennepin County Medical Center staffimmediately doubted. A CT scan showed fractures to the front, back and both sides of his skull — injuries a doctor told AP were inconsistent with a fall.

ICE's account evolved as Castañeda Mondragón lay stricken in the hospital. At least one officer told staff the man "got his (expletive) rocked," according to court documents filed by a lawyer seeking his release and nurses who treated him.

"There was never a wall," Castañeda Mondragón told AP, recalling ICE officers striking him with the same metal rod used to break the windows of the vehicle he was in. He later identified it as atelescoping batonroutinely carried by law enforcement.

Training materials and police use-of-force policies across the U.S. say such a baton can be used to hit the arms, legs and body. But striking the head, neck or spine is considered potentially deadly force.

Once he was taken to an ICE holding facility in suburban Minneapolis, Castañeda Mondragón said, officers resumed beating him. He said he pleaded with them to get a doctor, but they just "laughed at me and hit me again."

DHS will not discuss the case

The Trump administration this week announced abroad rolloutof body cameras for immigration officers in Minneapolis even as the government draws down ICE's presence there. But it's not clear whether Castañeda Mondragón's arrest was captured on body-camera footage or if there might be additional recordings from security cameras at the detention center.

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TheDepartment of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, has not responded to repeated requests for comment on the case.

The government's only acknowledgment of the injuries came in a Jan. 20 court filing that said it was learned during his arrest that "had a head injury that required emergency medical treatment."

The same filing said Castañeda Mondragón entered the U.S. legally in March 2022 and that the agency determined only after his arrest that he had overstayed his visa. A federal judge ruled his arrest had been unlawful and ordered him released from ICE custody.

Elected officials call for accountability

The case has drawn the attention of several officeholders in Minnesota, including Gov. Tim Walz, who this week posted an AP story about the case on X. But it's not clear whether any state authorities are investigating how Castañeda Mondragón was injured.

The Ramsey County Attorney's Office, which oversees St. Paul, urged Castañeda Mondragón to file a police report to prompt an investigation. He said he plans to file a complaint. A St. Paul police spokesperson said the department would investigate "all alleged crimes that are reported to us."

"We are seeing a repeated pattern of Trump Administration officials attempting to lie and gaslight the American people when it comes to the cruelty of this ICE operation in Minnesota," Sen. Tina Smith, a Minnesota Democrat, said in a statement.

Rep. Kelly Morrison, another Democrat and a doctor, recently toured the Whipple Building, the ICE facility at Ft. Snelling. She said she saw severe overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and an almost complete lack of medical care. She and other Minnesota Democrats say injuries that occur in ICE custody should be investigated.

"If any one of our police officers did this, you know what just happened in Minnesota with George Floyd, we hold them accountable," said Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum, whose district includes St. Paul. "There's no reason why federal agents should not be held to the same high standard."

Biesecker reported from Washington. Mustian reported from New York, and Attanasio reported from Seattle.

Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative.Report for Americais a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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Explainer: Why are many Hispanic surnames formed from 2 names and how does that work in the US?

February 06, 2026
Explainer: Why are many Hispanic surnames formed from 2 names and how does that work in the US?

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — What's in a surname? For many people from Spain and Latin America, it's about who your father is and who your mother is.

The tradition of using two surnames helps clearly identify familial relationships in much of the Spanish-speaking world. But in the United States, having two surnames can be a bureaucratic headache, or worse.

More than68 millionpeople in the U.S. identify as ethnically Hispanic, according to the latest census estimates. Many of them use two surnames.

One famous example can be found in the birth name of Puerto Rican rap superstar Bad Bunny, who is set to perform in the halftime show at this weekend's Super Bowl. His given name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, after his father Tito Martínez and his mother Lysaurie Ocasio.

But there is more to the origin story of Hispanic surnames.

How are Hispanic surnames formed?

In Spain and most Latin American countries, surnames are composed of two names. The first name is from the father and the second from the mother, with some exceptions.

Here is how it works. If Victoria's father is named Daniel Flores Garcia, and her mother is named Ana Salinas Marquez, her surnames will be Flores Salinas.

Women often keep their birth names when they marry, but laws and traditions vary by country. Women sometimes append the husband's paternal surname. An older way to do this is using "de," which means "of" as part of the name.

So if Victoria Flores Salinas marries Carlos Sandoval Cruz, she will likely remain Victoria Flores Salinas. But in some countries she might become Victoria Flores Sandoval or Victoria Flores de Sandoval. Other variations are also possible, like appending Sandoval after Salinas.

Regardless, if Victoria and Carlos have a child named Francisco, his full name will be Francisco Sandoval Flores.

How does this work in the United States?

People with typical Hispanic surnames who live in the U.S. often simply use the paternal surname to conform with the norm of a single last name. So in the United States, Francisco Sandoval Flores might just go by Francisco Sandoval.

However, people unfamiliar with these naming conventions sometimes assume the father's name is a middle name, not a surname.

To avoid that problem, some people continue to use both surnames. Still others hyphenate the two names. Occasionally, people even squish the two names together. Susana Pimiento has had to use all three of these strategies in the more than 20 years since she moved to the U.S.

Making sure official documents match, almost

Pimiento owns a translation and interpreter services agency in Austin, Texas, but is originally from Colombia. Her full name is Susana Pimiento Chamorro, but she uses that only for official government business. Even then, things can get tricky.

When she went to get a driver's license for the first time in Texas, the only way they would allow her to keep her two surnames was by hyphenating them.

"I could have dropped my mother's last name, but then it wouldn't have matched with my passport," she said.

Some airlines only allow one surname on a ticket, so she has to run both of her surnames together as if they were one word.

When she got a green card, things were even worse. The government issued it with her husband's name "not even in the American way, but in the old Latin American way," she said. "So I was Susana de Hammond. Like 'of Hammond.'"

She had to return the card, which did not match any of her other documentation. It was a year before the government finally issued a new one with her actual name. In the meantime, she had to seek special permission to leave the U.S. so she could travel for work.

"Before I got married, I told my husband, 'I'm not taking your name, you know? There is no way'," she said. "So then when my green card came with Susana de Hammond, we laughed. We thought that it was a joke. But, oh my gosh, it was so hard to straighten it out!"

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Suicide bomber kills dozens in Pakistan mosque

February 06, 2026
<p>A suicide bomber kills at least 31 in Islamabad mosque attack. </p> - Clipped From Video

A suicide bomber kills at least 31 in Islamabad mosque attack.

A suicide bomber killed dozens of people and injured more than 160 during Friday prayers at a Shiite Muslim mosque in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, authorities said.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack via two posts on its Telegram channel, and included the name and picture of the alleged bomber. CNN was unable to immediately verify the image.

The death toll stood at 32 as of Saturday afternoon, according to police in Islamabad.

IS said the attacker shot guards who tried to stop him before detonating his explosive vest. In its statement the group warned that "there is still more to come."

This was the deadliest attack in the country since January 2023, when a blast at a mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar killed more than 100 people.

"We had just begun the prayer when we heard the sound of gunfire, followed by a powerful explosion," a worshipper at the mosque, Syed Ameer Hussain Shah, 47, told CNN.

An injured man is taken to a hospital following an explosion at a mosque in Islamabad on Friday. - Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images

"I got injured as well. At that time, the mosque hall was full, with more than 400 worshippers inside."

Pakistan has witnessed a rising wave of militancy in recent years, but attacks have been less frequent in the heavily guarded capital. A bombing in Islamabad in November, which killed 12, was the deadliest suicide attack to rock the city in nearly two decades.

Images in the aftermath of the attack showed bodies covered in blood lying on the floor of the mosque surrounded by shards of glass and debris.

"It was a horrible scene of my life which I could never have imagined," 24-year-old Shoaib told CNN from PIMS Hospital Islamabad, where he was visiting his wounded cousin.

Shiite Muslims mourn outside the mosque following a deadly attack. - Farooq Naeem/AFP/Getty Images

"I heard the sound of single fire when we were in the middle of Friday prayers and, after a few seconds, a huge deafening sound of the explosion," he said. "Everyone was running outside while some worshipers began to shift the wounded to hospital. My young cousin sustained a wound in the right leg."

The US embassy in Islamabad condemned the attack. "Acts of terror and violence against civilians and places of worship are unacceptable," it said on X. "The people of Pakistan deserve safety, dignity, and the ability to practice their faith without fear."

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari said the targeting of innocent civilians was "a crime against humanity," and the entire nation stood "shoulder to shoulder with the families affected," the Associated Press reported.

Neighboring Afghanistan's ministry of foreign affairs also condemned the attack. "The Islamic Emirate considers attacks that violate the sanctity of mosques and sacred religious rites and target worshippers and civilians to be in contradiction to Islamic and humanitarian values," it said.

CNN's Sophie Tanno contributed reporting. This story has been updated with Islamic State claiming responsibility and new death toll.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

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What to know about Nancy Guthrie's kidnapping and the race to find her

February 06, 2026
What to know about Nancy Guthrie's kidnapping and the race to find her

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — It's been a week since "Today" show hostSavannah Guthrie's mother disappeared from her home in Arizona in what authorities say was a kidnapping.

Associated Press In this image provided by NBCUniversal, Savannah Guthrie, right, her mom Nancy speak, Wednesday, April 17, 2019, in New York. (Nathan Congleton/NBCUniversal via AP) The home of Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of Members of the press work in the neighborhood near the home of Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of

Savannah Guthrie Mom Missing

Investigators have been examining ransom notes and looking for evidence but have not named a suspect. On Friday, officers returned to 84-year-oldNancy Guthrie's home near Tucson and to the surrounding neighborhood to continuetheir search.

Here's what to know about the case:

The disappearance

Family members told officials theylast saw Guthrieat 9:48 p.m. on Jan. 31 when they dropped her off at home after they ate dinner and played games together. The next day, family learned she didn't attend church. They reported her missing after they went to check on her.

Guthrie has a pacemaker and needs daily medication. Her family and authorities are worried her health could be deteriorating by the day.

Collecting evidence

Authorities think Guthrie wastaken against her willfrom her home in an upscale neighborhood that sits on hilly, desert terrain. DNA tests showed blood on Guthrie's front porch matched hers, the county sheriff has said.

Investigators found her doorbell camera was disconnected early Sunday and that software data recorded movement at the home minutes later. But investigators haven't been able to recover the footage because Guthrie didn't have an active subscription to the service.

Pima County Sheriff ChrisNanos told The Associated Pressin an interview that investigators have not given up on trying to access those images.

"I wish technology was as easy as we believe it is, that here's a picture, here's your bad guy. But it's not," Nanos told the AP on Friday. "There are pieces of information that come to us from these tech groups that say 'This is what we have and we can't get anymore.'"

The president of the Catalina Foothills Association, a neighborhood group, thanked residents in a letter for being willing to speak with law enforcement, share camera images and allow their properties to be searched.

Ransom notes

At least three media organizations reported receiving purported ransom notes, which they handed over to investigators. Authorities made an arrest after one ransom note turned out to be fake, the sheriff said.

It's unclear if all of the notes were identical. Heith Janke, the FBI chief in Phoenix, said details included a demand for money with a Thursday evening deadline and a second deadline for Monday if the first one wasn't met. At least one note mentioned a floodlight at Guthrie's home and an Apple watch, Janke said.

Investigators said they are taking the notes seriously.

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On Friday, KOLD-TV in Tucson said it received a new message, via email, tied to the Guthrie case. The station said it couldn't disclose its contents. The FBI said it was aware of a new message and was reviewing its authenticity.

Family appeals

Concern about Guthrie's condition is growing because authorities say she needs daily medicine that's vital to her health. She has a pacemaker, high blood pressure and heart issues, according to sheriff's dispatcher audio onbroadcastify.com.

Guthrie's children recordedtwo separate video messagesto their mother's abductor and posted them publicly on social media.

Savannah Guthriefilmed a sometimes emotional messageon Wednesday asking the kidnapper for proof their mother was alive. She noted that technology today allows for theeasy manipulation of voices and imagesand the family needed to know "without a doubt" that she is alive and in the abductor's hands.

Police have not said that they have received any deepfake images of Nancy Guthrie.

Savannah Guthrie described her mother as a "kind, faithful, loyal, fiercely loving woman of goodness and light" and said she was funny, spunky and clever.

"Talk to her and you'll see," she said.

She spoke some words directly to her mom, saying she and her siblings wouldn't rest until they're all together again.

Trump's involvement

The FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information about Guthrie's whereabouts.

The White House said President Donald Trump called and spoke with Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday. He posted on social media that he was directing federal authorities to help where they can.

On Friday night, he told reporters flying with him to his Florida estate on Air Force One that the investigation was going "very well" and investigators had some strong clues.

Famous kidnappings

The kidnapping is the latest abduction toattract the American public's attention.

Other notorious kidnappings in U.S. history have included the son of singer Frank Sinatra, the granddaughter of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst and the 9-year-old girl for whom the AMBER Alert was named.

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Judge rules in favor of New York and New Jersey for now in $16B tunnel fight with Trump

February 06, 2026
A woman and two kids overlook a a construction site in Manhattan. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images file)

A federal judge ruled Friday to temporarily block the Trump administration from suspending federal disbursements for the Gateway Tunnel Project.

Construction on the project was expected to end Friday night without court intervention. Judge Jeannette Vargas has also asked for both parties to submit additional information on the issue within the next few days.

The tunnel is being constructed under the Hudson River to connect New York and New Jersey. The pause in building would have resulted in the immediate loss of nearly 1,000 jobs,according to a press release from the project, and an extended pause could put about 11,000 construction jobs at risk.

The administrationhalted fundingfor the $16 billion project when the government shut down last fall. But despite the shutdown ending in November and government funding packages passing this week, the administration has not released the funds.

The administration asked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for the Dulles International Airport in Washington and Penn Station in New Yorkto be named after President Donald Trumpin exchange for releasing the funds needed to build the tunnel, multiple sources told NBC News Thursday.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement said the judge's ruling "affirmed" that the Trump administration's funding freeze "is likely to be found unlawful."

"This ruling is a victory for the thousands of union workers who will build Gateway and the hundreds of thousands of riders who rely on it every day," Hochul said.

New York Attorney General Letitia James called the ruling a "victory for workers and commuters in New York and New Jersey," adding that the funding freeze "threatened to derail a project our entire region depends on."

The $16.1 billion project includes a new railway tunnel under the Hudson River that would link New York and New Jersey. The administration's freeze came after the project already underwent years of delays and other problems. It was revitalized in 2024 after President Joe Biden's administration said it would provide an additional $6.9 billion in funding.

"Suspending the funding for this monumental project based on the President's desire to punish political rivals violates the Administrative Procedure Act many times over. In this Complaint, Plaintiffs New Jersey and New York ask the Court to stay, vacate, declare unlawful, and enjoin the September 30 decision to suspend federal funding for the Project," the states said in their complaint.

The states alleged that the funding has been halted "because President Trump is engaged in political retribution."

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill also celebrated the ruling, writing in a statement that "President Trump's arbitrary and politically motivated decision to freeze this funding is plainly illegal."

Jennifer Davenport, acting attorney general of New Jersey, said in her own statement that halting construction would "cause grave harm to New Jersey and New York."

"The Trump Administration must drop this campaign of political retribution immediately and must allow work on this vital infrastructure project to continue," Davenport said.

White House budget director Russell Vought said at the time of the funding freeze that he was stopping funding for infrastructure projects to "ensure" it wasn't used "on unconstitutional DEI principles."

Both New Jersey and New Yorkhave suedto force the administration to release the funds, which had already been appropriated.

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Government must reach agreement on right to counsel for people at Minnesota ICE facility, judge says

February 06, 2026
Government must reach agreement on right to counsel for people at Minnesota ICE facility, judge says

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Attorneys for the federal government have until next Thursday to reach an agreement with human rights lawyers who are seeking to ensure the right to counsel for people detained at anImmigration and Customs Enforcementfacility in Minnesota, a judge said Friday.

Associated Press FILE - Federal agents walk down a street while conducting immigration enforcement operations, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy, File) A student protester is detained by University of Minnesota Police for chaining himself to a door on campus during an anti-ICE protest, on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy) A University of Minnesota Police officer threatens student protesters with arrest for chaining themselves to a door on campus during an anti-ICE protest, on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

Immigration Enforcement Ruses Minnesota

Advocates said people held at the facility on the edge of Minneapolis who face possible deportation are denied adequate access to lawyers, including in-person meetings. Attorney Jeffrey Dubner said detainees are allowed to make phone calls, but ICE personnel are typically nearby.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel told Justice Department attorney Christina Parascandola that there seemed to be a "very wide factual disconnect" between what the human rights lawyers allege and the government's claims of adequate access at what ICE depicts as only a temporary holding facility.

Parascandola said people detained at the facility have access to counsel and unmonitored phone calls at any time and for as long as they need. She conceded she had never been there.

Brasel called her argument "a tough sell," noting there was far more evidence in the case record to back up the plaintiffs' claims than the government's assurances.

"The gap here is so enormous I don't know how you're going to close it," the judge said.

Rather than ruling on the spot, Brasel told both sides to keep meeting with a retired judge who's mediating and who has helped narrow some of the gaps already. She noted at the start of the hearing that both sides agreed that "some degree of reasonable access" to legal counsel is constitutionally necessary but that they differed on the details of what that should look like.

If the sides don't reach at least a partial agreement by 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, the judge said she'll issue her order then. She didn't specify which way she'd rule.

A member of Congress decries conditions at detention center

The facility is part of the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, which is a center of ICE operations and has been the scene of frequent protests.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Kelly Morrison, of Minnesota, said in a statement Friday that conditions at the detention center continue to be poor. The physician said she learned in her visit Thursday night that the facility has no protocols in place to prevent the spread of measles to Minnesota from Texas. At least two cases were reported at a major ICE detention center in Texas this week.

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Some Minnesota detaineesincluding families with childrenhave been sent to the Texas facility, and some have returned to Minnesota after courts intervened, including5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramosand his father.

"It's abundantly clear that Whipple is not at all equipped to handle what the Trump Administration is doing with their cruel and chaotic 'Operation Metro Surge,'" Morrison said in a statement. "I am stunned by the inability or unwillingness of the federal agents to answer some of the most basic questions about their operations and protocols."

Even though afederal judge ruled Mondaythat members of Congress have the right to make unannounced visits to ICE facilities, Morrison said in a statement that agents attempted to deny her entry for nearly a half-hour and demanded that she leave before eventually letting her in.

On herfirst attemptlast month, Morrison and fellow Minnesota Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar and Angie Craig were turned away.

After she was able to enter the facility last weekend, Morrison said no real medical care was being offered to people held there.

Craig and Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum said they were turned away despite the court order when they tried to visit the facility overnight.

"We have heard countless reports that detainees are being held in unlivable conditions at Whipple," the two representatives said in a statement. "We have every reason to believe that this administration is once again lying through their teeth and trying to hide what we all know to be true -- that they are ignoring due process and treating immigrants as political pawns, not people."

Man charged with fel ony for wrecking anti-ICE sculpture

A supporter of the immigration crackdown who posted a video on social media of himself kicking down an anti-ICE sculpture outside the Minnesota state Capitol in St. Paul was released from jail Friday after being charged with a felony count of damage to property.

Lt. Mike Lee, a spokesperson for the Minnesota State Patrol, said Capitol Security observed Jake Lang, 30, of Lake Worth, Florida, damaging the display Thursday afternoon. He was arrested a short distance away. The ice sculpture spelled out "Prosecute ICE."

At his first court appearance, Lang was released pending trial but ordered to stay at least three blocks away from the Capitol. Court records don't list an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

Lang wasdrowned out by a large crowdlast month when he attempted to hold a small rally in Minneapolis in support of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer and other crimes before receiving clemency as part of President Donald Trump's sweeping intervention on behalf of Jan. 6 defendants last year.

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Judge rules in favor of New York and New Jersey for now in $16B tunnel fight with Trump

February 06, 2026
Judge rules in favor of New York and New Jersey for now in $16B tunnel fight with Trump

A federal judge ruled Friday to temporarily block the Trump administration from suspending federal disbursements for the Gateway Tunnel Project.

NBC Universal A woman and two kids overlook a a construction site in Manhattan. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images file)

Construction on the project was expected to end Friday night without court intervention. Judge Jeannette Vargas has also asked for both parties to submit additional information on the issue within the next few days.

The tunnel is being constructed under the Hudson River to connect New York and New Jersey. The pause in building would have resulted in the immediate loss of nearly 1,000 jobs,according to a press release from the project, and an extended pause could put about 11,000 construction jobs at risk.

The administrationhalted fundingfor the $16 billion project when the government shut down last fall. But despite the shutdown ending in November and government funding packages passing this week, the administration has not released the funds.

The administration asked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for the Dulles International Airport in Washington and Penn Station in New Yorkto be named after President Donald Trumpin exchange for releasing the funds needed to build the tunnel, multiple sources told NBC News Thursday.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement said the judge's ruling "affirmed" that the Trump administration's funding freeze "is likely to be found unlawful."

"This ruling is a victory for the thousands of union workers who will build Gateway and the hundreds of thousands of riders who rely on it every day," Hochul said.

New York Attorney General Letitia James called the ruling a "victory for workers and commuters in New York and New Jersey," adding that the funding freeze "threatened to derail a project our entire region depends on."

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The $16.1 billion project includes a new railway tunnel under the Hudson River that would link New York and New Jersey. The administration's freeze came after the project already underwent years of delays and other problems. It was revitalized in 2024 after President Joe Biden's administration said it would provide an additional $6.9 billion in funding.

"Suspending the funding for this monumental project based on the President's desire to punish political rivals violates the Administrative Procedure Act many times over. In this Complaint, Plaintiffs New Jersey and New York ask the Court to stay, vacate, declare unlawful, and enjoin the September 30 decision to suspend federal funding for the Project," the states said in their complaint.

The states alleged that the funding has been halted "because President Trump is engaged in political retribution."

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill also celebrated the ruling, writing in a statement that "President Trump's arbitrary and politically motivated decision to freeze this funding is plainly illegal."

Jennifer Davenport, acting attorney general of New Jersey, said in her own statement that halting construction would "cause grave harm to New Jersey and New York."

"The Trump Administration must drop this campaign of political retribution immediately and must allow work on this vital infrastructure project to continue," Davenport said.

White House budget director Russell Vought said at the time of the funding freeze that he was stopping funding for infrastructure projects to "ensure" it wasn't used "on unconstitutional DEI principles."

Both New Jersey and New Yorkhave suedto force the administration to release the funds, which had already been appropriated.

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