States sue Trump administration over restrictions put on FEMA emergency
grants
[November 06, 2025]
By GABRIELA AOUN ANGUEIRA
Eleven states and Kentucky's governor are suing the Trump administration
over what they call “unlawful terms” placed on federal funding critical
to supporting local disaster and terrorism preparedness.
The predominantly Democratic-led states, which include Michigan, Oregon
and Arizona, along with Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear sued the
Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency
on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Oregon.
The states oppose a dramatic cut to the amount of time they are given to
spend emergency management and homeland security grants, as well as an
unprecedented requirement that they submit population counts omitting
people removed under immigration law in order to receive emergency
management funds. They argue the measures “erect inappropriate barriers”
to money for public safety and emergency response.
“The Trump administration has repeatedly expressed a desire to diminish
FEMA’s role and shift the burden of emergency management to the States,
thus reverting to an inconsistent patchwork of disaster response across
the Nation,” the states said in the complaint.
In a statement to The Associated Press, a DHS spokesperson said the
changes were "part of a methodical, reasonable effort to ensure that
federal dollars are used effectively and in line with the
administration’s priorities and today’s homeland security threats.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency awards billions in emergency
management and homeland security grants annually to states, tribes and
territories. State and local agencies spend the money on staff salaries,
preparedness training and equipment purchases.
The lawsuit centers on two grant programs, the $320 million Emergency
Management Performance Grant and the $1 billion Homeland Security Grant
Program.
EMPG awards are based on states' populations, determined through U.S.
Census data. States received notices of their award amountsjust before
the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year.
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This photo provided by the County of Maui shows a wild fire in Maui,
Hawaii, Sept. 23, 2025. (The County of Maui via AP, File)
But on Oct. 1, FEMA sent a “funding hold” to all grant recipients,
informing them that funds would not be released until states
provided “certification” of their current populations, excluding
individuals “removed from the State pursuant to the immigration laws
of the United States.”
FEMA said states had to explain their methodology and funds would be
released upon “review and approval” of that methodology.
The complaint calls the requirement “arbitrary and capricious,”
adding that states do not keep “to-the-minute” population counts, it
is the job of DHS to track immigration-related removals, and federal
agencies are required by law to use Census data to allocate funding.
FEMA also shortened the time states had to spend the money from both
grants from three years to just one. Plaintiff states said the
change “imposes significant obstacles" on recipients' ability to use
funds and makes the funding "largely unusable.”
Both states and local governments depend heavily on the grants. The
$6.6 million Arizona would receive from EMPG funds half of the
state’s emergency management operations, according to the complaint.
Oregon’s Department of Emergency Management estimates two-thirds of
the state’s counties would lose “significant or even all capacity to
perform basic emergency management functions" without EMPG funding,
according to a statement from Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield’s
office.
The lawsuit is the latest of several brought against the Trump
administration over changes and cancellations to FEMA funding. Trump
has repeatedly said he wants to diminish FEMA's role in disasters
and put more responsibility on states.
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