Coalition says disaster aid cannot be conditioned on immigration, election and federal enforcement policies.
A coalition of 24 U.S. states and the District of Columbia has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s decision to condition disaster preparedness and recovery funding on compliance with federal immigration, law enforcement and election-related requirements.
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The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court in Rhode Island, challenges conditions imposed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on grants that support disaster preparedness, response and recovery.
The plaintiffs argue that the administration is unlawfully requiring state and local governments to adopt federal immigration enforcement measures, cooperate with federal agencies and comply with new election administration requirements to qualify for congressionally approved disaster funding. They contend that attaching those conditions to the grants is both illegal and unconstitutional.
El secretario de Guerra de Estados Unidos, Pete Hegseth, reveló ante el Senado que las operaciones militares dirigidas contra Irán desde el 28 de febrero han generado un gasto acumulado de 37.500 millones de dólares.
Durante su comparecencia en la cámara alta, Hegseth…
— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) July 22, 2026
Text Reads: U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth revealed to the Senate that military operations directed against Iran since February 28 have generated a cumulative expenditure of $37.5 billion.
During his appearance before the upper chamber, Hegseth requested more funds to continue the actions without presenting concrete benefits, which sparked outrage among the legislators; among them, Democratic Senator Patty Murray, who unsuccessfully demanded details on the advantages that this prolonged confrontation would have brought to the United States and Israel.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is leading the lawsuit alongside Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, said the administration had already failed in similar legal disputes.
“The Administration has already lost similar battles in court, and we expect this latest illegal attempt to fail as well,” Bonta said, adding that communities “deserve better than seeing their essential resources caught up in political games.”
Bonta said the White House had previously attempted to restrict access to the same funding programs, but state attorneys general had successfully blocked two earlier efforts.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha accused the federal government of using public safety as leverage to pressure states into adopting policies that do not benefit their residents.
Neronha said than once again, the Trump administration is threatening public safety by illegally withholding billions of dollars in critical funding, and once again, they will not get away with it.
California Governor Gavin Newsom also criticized the funding conditions, saying the president cannot coerce the state into changing its election laws.
The coalition includes Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, joining California, Illinois, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia in the legal challenge to the administration’s policy of conditioning federal disaster assistance.
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