Attorney General Bonta Seeks Emergency Court Order to Prevent Diversion of Critical Homeland Security Funding

Trump Administration continues attack on state rights, putting public safety at risk

OAKLAND - California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, as part of a multistate coalition, sought emergency relief from the U.S. District Court for the District Court of Rhode Island to stop the unlawful reallocation of hundreds of millions of dollars in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Homeland Security Grant Program funding away from states like California. For decades, California has relied on this funding to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from terrorism and other catastrophes. And across each presidential administration, this funding had been allocated even-handedly and on the basis of need and risk. On Saturday, however, California and other states received award notifications that were significantly lower than anticipated - without justification and seemingly based on their states' decision to use their law enforcement resources to protect public safety rather than assist in federal immigration enforcement. In filing the lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition assert that this reallocation exceeds FEMA's statutory authority, is arbitrary and capricious, and violates the U.S. Constitution.

"The Trump Administration is setting a record as one of the most anti-law enforcement, anti-public safety administrations in America's history," said Attorney General Bonta. "Tell me, how does defunding California's efforts to protect against terrorism make our communities safer? President Trump doesn't like that we won't be bullied into doing his bidding, ignoring our sovereign right to make decisions about how our law enforcement resources are best used to protect our communities. We secured a permanent injunction last week blocking the Trump Administration's illegal efforts to condition this funding, and today, we're seeking emergency relief to keep them from unlawfully diverting Congressionally-appropriated homeland security funding away from our state without justification and apparently because they don't like our commitment to public safety. Unlike this President, I will always step up and defend California's safety."

The Trump Administration seeks to reduce California's funding for two Homeland Security Grant Programs. The State Homeland Security Program assists state, local, and tribal efforts in building, sustaining, and delivering capabilities necessary to prevent, prepare for, protect against, and respond to acts of terrorism. The Urban Area Security Initiative assists high-threat, high-density urban areas in addressing terrorism threats. Specifically, these program grants enhance cybersecurity, support infrastructure security enhancements, and fund trainings and exercises designed to test and improve emergency preparedness and terrorism prevention. These funds are also utilized to procure specialized equipment including detection systems for chemical and biological agents, specialized response vehicles, personal protective equipment for first responders, security cameras, and warning systems, among other uses. Congress created these federal grant programs and appropriates billions of dollars each year to ensure they are fully funded to meet the nation's needs. And for decades, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its sub-agency, FEMA have operated these programs evenhandedly - until the Trump Administration.

On January 20, 2025, his first day in office, President Trump directed DHS to "ensure that so-called 'sanctuary' jurisdictions do not receive access to Federal funds." The President deemed certain states and jurisdictions in "lawless insurrection," despite the fact that courts have upheld laws like California's SB 54 as constitutional and consistent with federal immigration law and firmly rebuked the Trump Administration's attempts to condition federal funds on assistance with immigration enforcement. Just last week, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island issued a permanent injunction in California's lawsuit blocking the Trump Administration's effort to unlawfully impose immigration enforcement requirements on billions of dollars in annual DHS grants. Yet, DHS and FEMA remain undeterred from continuing to attempt to carry out the President's directive.

On Saturday, September 27, FEMA issued award notifications for its single largest grant program - the Homeland Security Grant Program, which totals approximately $1 billion in funds annually. Consistent with federal law, FEMA has previously issued notices of funding opportunity preliminarily allocating the funding among state recipients based on each jurisdiction's "relative threat, vulnerability, and consequences from acts of terrorism." According to that notice, California could expect to receive approximately $165 million in grant funding. However, when California received the grant notification, the award was only $110 million, reflecting a 33% reduction. Some states saw even sharper cuts: Illinois received a 69% reduction in funding, and New York received a 79% reduction. At the same time, many other states saw increases to their allocation upwards of 100%. While the states are still gathering information, a defining factor appears to be whether a state was a so-called "sanctuary" jurisdiction or not. In short, the current Administration appears to be taking money from its perceived "enemies" and reallocating it to its "friends."

In their lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that the reallocation of this grant funding is unlawful and should be vacated and set aside. The Homeland Security Act requires DHS and FEMA to allocate Homeland Security Grant Programs funds using objective, risk-based criteria. Instead, the reallocation appears to rest on another factor: California and other states' domestic policies about how to best utilize their domestic law-enforcement resources. The reallocation also is arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, withdrawing hundreds of millions of dollars from states like California with no explanation and based on factors Congress did not intend DHS to consider. Finally, the reallocation violates the Constitution, by baselessly treating California differently from other states.

In their motion for a temporary restraining order, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition ask the court for immediate, emergency relief requiring FEMA to rescind the award notifications and blocking FEMA from disbursing funding that would then potentially be unavailable to California and other states if they are successful in the litigation.

Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Illinois, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, and Washington in filing the lawsuit and motion for emergency relief.

A copy of the lawsuit is available here.