Dive Brief:
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A coalition of 24 states, the District of Columbia and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania on Thursday sued the Department of Homeland Security for conditioning Federal Emergency Management Agency public safety funds on states’ compliance with the Trump administration’s election and immigration mandates and giving FEMA authority to cut off funding that doesn’t match “agency priorities.”
- The grants fund first responders’ salaries and training, building security for houses of worship and schools, cybersecurity, earthquake and flood mitigation, wildfire management, search-and-rescue efforts, food aid after natural disasters, and case managers who help disaster survivors develop recovery plans, according to the lawsuit.
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States and local governments have filed multiple lawsuits over FEMA’s conditions on funding opportunities. In December, a judge ordered the Trump administration to stop reallocating homeland security funding away from states unwilling to enforce federal immigration law. Last fall, local governments won a preliminary injunction preventing more than $350 million in emergency and disaster preparedness funds to be tied to immigration enforcement and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Dive Insight:
FEMA issued a grant notice for fiscal year 2026 earlier this month stating it would withhold 20% of funds allocated through the Homeland Security Grant program from states and “high-risk urban election jurisdictions” until they prove they’ve complied with the Trump administration’s election security requirements, including transitioning from electronic voting systems to hand-marked paper ballots and verifying the citizenship of all voters and election workers.
Thursday’s lawsuit, filed in Rhode Island District Court, argues that Congress never gave DHS or FEMA authority to rewrite state election law, require cooperation with federal immigration agents or “terminate federal funding streams at any time for any reason.” The states argue the conditions violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution’s Spending Clause.
“President Trump has little support for both his mass deportation agenda and his baseless claims of election fraud, so instead, he’s trying to bully state and local governments into adopting his preferred policies in exchange for much-needed funding,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. “The Administration has already lost similar fights in court, and we expect this latest unlawful attempt to fail as well.”
“The Trump Administration is playing politics with people’s lives and with the safety of our communities,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said in a statement.
A FEMA spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Smart Cities Dive that “protecting our critical infrastructure remains a top priority for the Trump Administration.”
“Concerns over voting processes, data security, and registration practices have made it clear that action is required,” the spokesperson stated. “This year, states must take critical, common-sense steps to protect U.S. elections before receiving their full Homeland Security Grant Program awards. These new requirements will preserve election integrity.”
