State emergency officials say new rules and delays for FEMA grants put
disaster response at risk
[October 20, 2025]
By GABRIELA AOUN ANGUEIRA
State officials on the front lines of preparing for natural disasters
and responding to emergencies say severe cuts to federal security
grants, restrictions on money intended for readiness and funding delays
tied to litigation are posing a growing risk to their ability to respond
to crises.
It’s all causing confusion, frustration and concern. The federal
government shutdown isn’t helping.
“Every day we remain in this grant purgatory reduces the time available
to responsibly and effectively spend these critical funds,” said Kiele
Amundson, communications director at the Hawaii Emergency Management
Agency.
The uncertainty has led some emergency management agencies to hold off
on filling vacant positions and make rushed decisions on important
training and purchases.
Experts say the developments complicate state-led emergency efforts,
undermining the Republican administration’s stated goals of shifting
more responsibility to states and local governments for disaster
response.
In an emailed statement, the Department of Homeland Security said the
new requirements were necessary because of “recent population shifts"
and that changes to security grants were made “to be responsive to new
and urgent threats facing our nation.”
A new wrinkle tied to immigration raids
Several DHS and FEMA grants help states, tribes and territories prepare
for climate disasters and deter a variety of threats. The money pays for
salaries and training, and such things as vehicles, communications
equipment and software.
State emergency managers say that money has become increasingly
important because the range of threats they must prepare for is
expanding, including pandemics and cyberattacks.
FEMA, a part of DHS, divided a $320 million Emergency Management
Performance Grant among states on Sept. 29. But the next day, it told
states the money was on hold until they submitted new population counts.
The directive demanded that they omit people "removed from the State
pursuant to the immigration laws of the United States” and to explain
their methodology.
The amount of money distributed to the states is based on U.S. census
population data. The new requirement forcing states to submit revised
counts “is something we have never seen before,” said Trina Sheets,
executive director of the National Emergency Management Association, a
group representing emergency managers. “It’s certainly not the
responsibility of emergency management to certify population.”
With no guidance on how to calculate the numbers, Hawaii’s Amundson said
staff scrambled to gather data from the 2020 census and other sources,
then subtracted he number of “noncitizens” based on estimates from an
advocacy group.
They are not sure the methodology will be accepted. But with their FEMA
contacts furloughed and the grant portal down during the federal
shutdown, they cannot find out. Other states said they were assessing
the request or awaiting further guidance.
In its statement, DHS said FEMA needs to be certain of its funding
levels before awarding grant money, and that includes updates to a
state's population due to deportations.
Experts said delays caused by the request could most affect local
governments and agencies that receive grant money passed down by states
because their budgets and staffs are smaller. At the same time, FEMA
also reduced the time frame that recipients have to spend the money,
from three years to one. That could prevent agencies from taking on
longer-term projects.
Bryan Koon, president and CEO of the consulting firm IEM and a former
Florida emergency management chief, said state governments and local
agencies need time to adjust their budgets to any kind of changes.
“An interruption in those services could place American lives in
jeopardy,” he said.
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A sign for the Federal Emergency Management Agency is pictured at
FEMA headquarters, April 20, 2020, in Washington. (Al Drago/The New
York Times via AP, Pool)
Grant programs tied up by litigation
In another move that has caused uncertainty, FEMA in September
drastically cut some states’ allocations from another source of
funding. The $1 billion Homeland Security Grant Program is supposed
to be based on assessed risks, and states pass most of the money to
police and fire departments.
New York received $100 million less than it expected, a 79%
reduction, while Illinois saw a 69% reduction. Both states are
politically controlled by Democrats. Meanwhile, some territories
received unexpected windfalls, including the U.S. Virgin Islands,
which got more than twice its expected allocation.
The National Emergency Management Association said the grants are
meant to be distributed based on risk and that it “remains unclear
what risk methodology was used” to determine the new funding
allocation.
After a group of Democratic states challenged the cuts in court, a
federal judge in Rhode Island issued a temporary restraining order
on Sept. 30. That forced FEMA to rescind award notifications and
refrain from making payments until a further court order.
The freeze “underscores the uncertainty and political volatility
surrounding these awards,” said Frank Pace, administrator of the
Hawaii Office of Homeland Security. The Democratic-controlled state
received more money than expected, but anticipates the bonus being
taken away with the lawsuit.
In Hawaii, where a 2023 wildfire devastated the Maui town of Lahaina
and killed more than 100 people, the state, counties and nonprofits
“face the real possibility” of delays in paying contractors,
completing projects and “even staff furloughs or layoffs” if the
grant freeze and government shutdown continue, he said.
The myriad setbacks prompted Washington state's Emergency Management
Division to pause filling some positions “out of an abundance of
caution," communications director Karina Shagren said.
A series of delays and cuts disrupts state-federal partnership
Emergency management experts said the moves have created uncertainty
for those in charge of preparedness.
The Trump administration has suspended a $3.6 billion FEMA disaster
resilience program, cut the FEMA workforce and disrupted routine
training.
Other lawsuits also are complicating decision-making. A Manhattan
federal judge last week ordered DHS and FEMA to restore $34 million
in transit security grants it had withheld from New York City
because of its immigration policies.
Another judge in Rhode Island ordered DHS to permanently stop
imposing grant conditions tied to immigration enforcement, after
ruling in September that the conditions were unlawful — only to have
DHS again try to impose them.
Taken together, the turbulence surrounding what was once a reliable
partner is prompting some states to prepare for a different
relationship with FEMA.
“Given all of the uncertainties," said Sheets, of the National
Emergency Management Association, states are trying to find ways to
be "less reliant on federal funding.”
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