By Cathy Durant –
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, as part of a coalition of 12 attorneys general and the governor of Pennsylvania, prevailed in a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s reallocation of federal homeland security funding away from certain states based on their compliance with the administration’s immigration policies.
“This victory ensures that the Trump Administration cannot punish states that refuse to help carry out its cruel immigration agenda, particularly by denying them lifesaving funding that helps prepare for and respond to disasters and emergencies,” AG Campbell said. “I will continue to hold the federal government accountable when they try to play politics with the safety and security of our residents.”
The lawsuit stemmed from actions taken on September 27, when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency cut funding to several states without prior notice or explanation, just four days before the end of the federal fiscal year. According to the complaint, the reductions targeted states with agencies or municipalities that declined to divert law enforcement resources from core public safety functions to assist with federal immigration enforcement. The Trump Administration subsequently reallocated the funds to other states.
On the same day the funding was reduced, FEMA issued award notifications for the Homeland Security Grant Program, its largest grant program, which distributes about $1 billion annually to support state and local efforts to prevent, prepare for and respond to terrorism. FEMA awarded only $250 million to 12 states deemed unwilling to comply with the administration’s immigration agenda, representing a 49% reduction from the nearly $500 million FEMA had previously indicated those states would receive. Massachusetts experienced a 31% reduction, amounting to nearly $7 million.
AG Campbell and the coalition filed suit on September 29, arguing that the funding reallocation was arbitrary and capricious and violated the federal Administrative Procedure Act. In its ruling, a U.S. District Court found that states’ policies regarding federal immigration enforcement were a factor in DHS’s funding decisions. The court ordered DHS to revise the grant awards to reflect the previously announced allocations for the plaintiff states.
The court also invalidated other last-minute changes to emergency preparedness programs made at the close of the fiscal year. Those changes included reducing the duration of grant awards from three years to one year and requiring states to certify their populations as of September 30, 2025, while excluding individuals who had been “removed from the State pursuant to the immigration laws of the United States.” The court determined those actions were also arbitrary and capricious.
Joining Attorney General Campbell in the lawsuit were the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, along with the governor of Pennsylvania.