By Nate Raymond

(Reuters) -A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that an effort by the Trump administration to force states to cooperate with immigration enforcement in order to receive billions of dollars in emergency and disaster aid is unlawful and unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge William Smith in Providence, Rhode Island, sided with 20 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia, which challenged conditions the U.S. Department of Homeland Security placed on their ability to obtain grant funding.

Those states sued in May, arguing the department was unlawfully using federal funding intended for emergency preparedness and disaster relief to coerce them into adhering to the Republican president’s hardline immigration agenda.

The department, which oversees U.S. Immigration and

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