Multistate coalition including Washington wins a court order protecting billions in federal emergency services funding

The Trump administration illegally attempted to coerce states into sweeping immigration enforcement by threatening to withhold billions in federal emergency services funding, a federal judge has ruled in an important victory for Washington and a multistate coalition.

A U.S. District Court judge in Rhode Island has granted a motion for summary judgment filed by Attorney General Nick Brown and 20 other attorneys general in their lawsuit against the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

In his opinion, the judge held that the agencies violated the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act by conditioning federal funds from FEMA and DHS on states’ agreement to assist in enforcing federal immigration law. The agencies’ actions jeopardized tens of millions of dollars that Washington uses to protect against and recover from disasters such as wildfires and earthquakes and prepare for and respond to national security incidents.

“Using this funding as a bargaining chip is shameful politics by the Trump administration,” Brown said. “I’m gratified the judge saw through this blatantly illegal effort to withhold critically important funds that keep Washingtonians safe.” 

In February, Secretary Noem directed DHS and its sub-agencies, including FEMA, to cease federal funding to jurisdictions that do not assist the federal government in the enforcement of federal immigration law. In March, DHS amended the terms and conditions it places on all federal grants to require recipients to certify that they will assist in enforcing federal immigration law. These sweeping new conditions would require states and state agencies to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts or lose out on billions of federal dollars that states use to protect public safety. 

The court agreed with the states that the agencies violated the Administrative Procedure Act in adding the conditions and said the conditions also violate the Constitution’s Spending Clause.

The court rejected the agencies’ argument that placing immigration-related conditions on the grant funding was appropriate simply because many of the grants are designed to prevent and respond to acts of terrorism. The court also determined that DHS made no serious attempt to provide a fact-based reason for its action. In fact, the court found that the “vague and confusing language” used in the conditions made it nearly impossible for states to comply. 

In Washington, funding from DHS and FEMA has been used to help local governments improve cybersecurity, train maritime police officers in the Puget Sound region, assist the town of Malden in rebuilding following a devastating fire, and retrofit water storage facilities in the Cascadia Subduction Zone to avert damage in the event of an earthquake.

The lawsuit, which was co-led by the attorneys general of California, Illinois, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, was also joined by the attorneys general from Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Wisconsin and Vermont.

A copy of the judge’s order is available here.

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