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By Hollie Silverman and Dan Gooding
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New York Attorney General Letitia James said on Tuesday that New York won its case against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for cutting FEMA funding in a post on X.
James previously said the funding had been used to protect national security and emergency response programs. She said it was cut because New York refused to support the federal government "attacks on immigrants." The case included state attorneys general from 10 other states and Washington, D.C.
"This is a major victory for our law enforcement and local leaders who depend on these funds to keep New Yorkers safe," James said.
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DHS told Newsweek it would fight the ruling.
Why It Matters
James has come under scrutiny from the administration after she pursued a major civil fraud case against President Donald Trump during his years away from the White House. Earlier this year, officials charged her with federal mortgage fraud in what many saw as a retaliatory move.
The funding in question has been viewed as a way for the federal government to seek to force so-called sanctuary states to comply with federal immigration enforcement.
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What To Know
In a ruling issued Monday, Rhode Island U.S. District Judge Mary S. McElroy, a Trump appointee, said the case was the latest example of the Trump administration attempting to tie federal grants to immigration enforcement. She referred to a previous ruling barring DHS from doing this, after which the department sent out letters to the plaintiff states telling them funding was being reallocated anyway.
DHS began reallocating Homeland Security Grant Program funds in September, away from states which had refused to cooperate with the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts. The funding, the states said, was being used for critical law enforcement training, emergency preparedness, and counter-terrorism activities.
Alongside New York on the case were California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia.
New York saw a $100 million reduction in funding, James said in a press release Tuesday. The cash supports border security along the state's northern border with Canada and protects vital infrastructure such as power grids from attack. Another share of the funding is used for training at the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and New York City Fire Department (FDNY).
In Illinois, the funding has been used to support the state's Terrorism and Intelligence Center, while in New Jersey, the cash is used for training state agency staff on cybersecurity, and planning risk mitigation efforts.
The Trump administration argued that its reallocation of funds was not arbitrary or capricious, McElroy wrote, instead arguing that they acted within "a zone of reasonableness" by using their discretionary authority to change where funding would be sent. The judge noted that government officials had stated repeatedly that they would not send funds to sanctuary jurisdictions, despite multiple court orders barring such efforts.
McElroy admonished the administration, saying that their "wanton abuse of their role in federal grant administration is particularly troublesome given the fact that they have been entrusted with a most solemn duty: safeguarding our Nation and its citizens."
She went on to say that the funding which had been withheld from the states supported counterterrorism and law enforcement programs like those involved in the response this month's deadly shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island, where she is based.
"To hold hostage funding for programs like these based solely on what appear to be Defendants’ political whims is unconscionable and, at least here, unlawful," McElroy wrote.
What People Are Saying
New York Attorney General Letitia James, in a press release on Tuesday: "Law enforcement and local leaders throughout New York depend on these funds to keep New Yorkers safe. The administration’s attempt to play politics with these resources was illegal and put our state at risk. This decision is a significant win in our ongoing efforts to protect New Yorkers from reckless funding cuts."
U.S. District Judge Mary S. McElroy, in her ruling on Monday: "It may be that Defendants have some clever explanation for how their supposedly revised formula for grant calculations happened to result in severe funding cuts to sanctuary jurisdictions—and only to sanctuary jurisdictions—without considering their sanctuary status as a factor. But because the Court’s review is limited to the administrative record that existed at the time of the Reallocation Decision…it need not indulge such sophistry."
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, in a statement to Newsweek: “For too long, FEMA’s outdated programs treated taxpayer money like a free-for-all. President Trump and Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS has been relentless in its efforts to eliminate waste and ensure every dollar strengthens our communities. This judicial sabotage threatens the safety of our states, counties, towns, and weakens the entire nation. We will fight to restore these critical reforms and protect American lives.”
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, in a press release on Monday: "I’m pleased with the court’s ruling. Congress approved this funding with the understanding that our nation is at its strongest when all Americans, regardless of where they reside, are protected from terrorist attacks, natural disasters and other life-threatening emergencies. I will continue to stand with my colleagues against the Trump administration’s illegal and dangerous attempts to coerce states into compliance with the president’s political agenda."
What Happens Next
DHS has been ordered to send the plaintiff states the money originally allocated them earlier this year.
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