Press Statement  AG Campbell Releases Statement After Court Finds Trump Administration’s Threats To Withhold FEMA Funding Unconstitutional

Boston — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today issued the following statement after her office secured a victory in its case against the Trump Administration, challenging its efforts to strong arm states into participating in its unlawful immigration enforcement tactics by withholding billions of dollars in federal funding for emergency services. 

“Today, the Court ruled that the Trump Administration cannot bully states into taking part in their fear-driven, inhumane immigration agenda by withholding congressionally appropriated funds,” said AG Campbell. “I applaud the Court’s decision, which will protect billions of dollars to help states ensure public safety and prepare for, protect against, and respond to catastrophic natural disasters. We will continue to hold the Trump Administration accountable when it violates our laws and puts our residents at risk.”  

In their lawsuit against FEMA, the coalition of attorneys general argued that the new terms and conditions placed on federal grant funding were unconstitutional and beyond the Department of Homeland Security’s legal authority. They argued that Congress had appropriated the funding to protect and support public safety, not for immigration enforcement. In today’s judgment, the Court agreed with the states that the safety and well-being of every American could be put at risk if states were forced to forfeit the billions in federal funding for emergency preparedness and response for failing to comply with the federal government's cruel and unlawful immigration enforcement policies. 

Last year, Massachusetts alone received more than five million dollars in federal funding from FEMA, for a sum total of over 23 million dollars received over the last four years. AG Campbell and the coalition argued that using federal funding to bully states into submission would cause irreparable harm to the delicate bond and carefully built trust between law enforcement and the very communities they vow to serve and protect.   

Today’s Court ruling grants summary judgment to the coalition of attorneys general and prevents the Trump Administration from placing unlawful conditions on federal grant funding.