Attorney General Neronha co-leads coalition in filing emergency lawsuit to protect critical homeland security funding
Published on Monday, September 29, 2025
Attorney General Peter F. Neronha today joined a coalition of 12 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit in Rhode Island federal court to stop the Trump Administration from unlawfully reallocating federal homeland security funding away from states based on their compliance with the administration’s political agenda.
On Saturday, without any notice or explanation, and four days before the end of the federal fiscal year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) significantly cut funding to certain states that are unwilling to divert law enforcement resources away from core public safety services to assist in enforcing federal immigration law while reallocating those funds to other states. The move came days after Attorney General Neronha and a group of attorneys general secured a permanent injunction along with an opinion holding that the agencies violated the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act by conditioning all federal funds from FEMA and DHS on states’ agreement to assist the federal government in enforcing federal immigration law.
“Federal emergency funding cannot be held hostage from states who are rightfully resisting the President’s unlawful attempts to force them to do his bidding,” said Attorney General Neronha. “In doing so, President Trump is illegally subverting the Congress, and punishing the states who have exerted their right, ensured by the Constitution, to enact policies and laws that best serve their residents. We are obviously right on the law here, and I am confident that we will succeed, but I hope Americans take note that this President and his Administration would rather endanger the lives of people across this country than obey the law and respect lawful policy differences.”
Many of the grant programs administered by DHS and FEMA were authorized by Congress in the wake of national emergencies, such as the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina, to strengthen the nation’s preparedness for and response to emergencies and major disasters. These grants fund first responders’ salaries, pay for the training they receive, and support the mutual aid networks that allow them to mobilize when tragedy strikes. They also support crucial efforts to prepare for and prevent disasters, such as computer network testing to identify cyberattack vulnerabilities. For decades, administrations of both parties have operated these programs evenhandedly, supporting all 50 states in their efforts to prepare for and respond to emergencies and threats.
On Saturday, FEMA issued the award notifications for its single largest grant program, the Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP), which allocates approximately $1 billion in funds annually for state and municipal efforts to prevent, prepare for and respond to acts of terrorism. FEMA granted only $226 million to the states filing today’s lawsuit. This was a $233 million, or 51%, reduction from the total amount that FEMA had previously stated it would provide to these states.
Some states saw even sharper cuts. For instance, Illinois received a 69% reduction in funds, totaling over $30 million. New York received a 79% reduction in funds, totaling over $100 million. DHS then redistributed the funds that it had cut to other states.
On September 26, 2025, the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA) received its HSGP and EMPG award notifications for $4,362,750.00 and $3,016,730.00, respectively. While the award amounts were as expected for Rhode Island, the performance periods were shortened from three years to one. If placed into effect, this truncated performance period would likely require the State to implement significant, last-minute changes to its emergency budget, and also result in the State foregoing a considerable amount of this federal funding, since the State likely could not spend these amounts in a single year.
In their lawsuit, Attorney General Neronha and the coalition argue that the reallocation of funds is unlawful and violates both the federal Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution of the United States. The attorneys general are seeking both a temporary restraining order to immediately block the last-minute reallocation, as well as further declaratory and injunctive relief to permanently prevent the federal government’s unlawful actions.
Attorney General Neronha co-led the coalition with the attorneys general of Illinois, New Jersey, and California. Joining them in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Vermont and Washington.
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