MAYOR ELICKER ANNOUNCES THE CITY OF NEW HAVEN JOINS NEW LAWSUIT TO BLOCK TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S UNLAWFUL ATTACK ON OVER $100 MILLION IN EMERGENCY AND DISASTER FUNDING

The legal action by nine East Coast and Midwest local governments follows similar lawsuit filed by nearly 30 West Coast local government entities, as critical funding for fire departments, port security, and counterterrorism remains at risk.

[NEW HAVEN, CT] - Today, Mayor Justin Elicker announced the City of New Haven has joined with eight other local governments on the East Coast and in the Midwest in suing the Trump administration for attempting to impose unlawful and unrelated conditions on federal emergency and disaster preparedness funds. The conditions would force local governments to adopt the administration's political agenda or risk losing critical funding.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Illinois, centers on over $100 million in grants administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). These funds help the local governments safeguard their residents - more than 14 million people - by supporting fire department staffing, port and transit security, counterterrorism preparedness and hazard mitigation projects like flood prevention. The lawsuit asks the court to stop DHS and FEMA from using these life-saving funds as leverage for unrelated political agendas.

The administration is demanding that local governments abandon diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and comply with all executive orders related to grant funding as a condition of receiving federal dollars. These conditions are unrelated to the purpose of the grants themselves. The plaintiffs argue that they are unconstitutional and exceed the executive's authority, falling far outside what Congress authorized.

"Emergency and disaster relief funding should not be politicized or subject to so-called 'terms and conditions' that have absolutely nothing to do with public safety. The Trump Administration is once again playing politics with public safety and people's lives, and we will not stand for it," said Mayor Elicker. "These new terms and conditions also represent a potentially dangerous precedent by the Trump Administration to try to make federal funding conditional on acquiescing to their right-wing political ideology - and it's important that we draw a clear line in the sand that this not acceptable. New Haven is a city that values and cherishes diversity, equity and inclusion and we will not abandon these bedrock principles of a more inclusive city and society."

In FY 2025, the City of New Haven was awarded $93,597 through FEMA's Port Security Grant Program (PSGP). The PSGP provides federal funding to state, local, territorial and private-sector partners to help protect critical port infrastructure from terrorism and other emergencies, enhance maritime domain awareness, improve port-wide maritime security risk management, and maintain or reestablish maritime security mitigation protocols that enhance port recovery and resiliency capabilities.

These funds are slated to be used for critical port security investments, including camera maintenance, upgrades and expansions to portion of the city's camera network devoted to the port and related waterways. Several cameras and related servers are nearing the end of their useful life and need to be upgraded and replaced.

The City of Chicago is the lead plaintiff in the case, City of Chicago et al v. Kristi Noem et al.

"Chicago will not stand by while the federal government weaponizes emergency funding to attack our values," said Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. "Chicago will always uphold the importance of our diversity. Ensuring that all Chicagoans have an opportunity to succeed is not discrimination; it's just basic fairness. We will fight to ensure our first responders have the tools they need, that our commitment to equity and inclusion remains strong, and that we receive every federal dollar intended for public safety."

The City of New Haven and several other jurisdictions are working with Public Rights Project, a nonpartisan nonprofit that works with local governments to protect civil rights, and counsel from other plaintiff jurisdictions.

"We've seen this playbook before from the Trump administration - weaponizing federal funding to bully local governments into abandoning policies that keep people safe," said Jill Habig, founder and CEO of Public Rights Project. "Our latest lawsuit further highlights the widespread harm these policies are causing in both major urban areas and small counties across the country."

In addition to New Haven, the stakes are high in other communities across the country:

• In Chicago, Ill., the city is relying on approximately $6 million to ensure that 47 Chicago police department positions that are dedicated to protecting public transportation infrastructure from terrorism are properly trained and equipped.
• In New York City, $12 million is slated to protect its transit system from terrorism, major disasters and other emergencies.
• In Denver, Colo., over $4 million in federal grants is essential to fund emergency preparedness for the city and its surrounding region.

Without these funds, millions of people will face greater public safety risks. In addition, the lack of funds will force communities to divert scarce resources from other essential services, delay projects or cancel them entirely.

The complete list of plaintiffs are:

• Chicago, Ill. (lead plaintiff)
• Baltimore, Md.
• Boston, Mass.
• City and County of Denver, Colo.
• Minneapolis, Minn.
• New York City, NY
• New Haven, Conn.
• Ramsey County, Minn.
• Saint Paul, Minn.

The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division (Case No. 1:25-cv-12765) and a copy of the complaint can be found here and Exhibit A, which includes the terms and conditions, can be found here.

This is the third lawsuit that the City of New Haven has filed against the Trump Administration, along with joining numerous other amicus briefs.

Press Contacts:

• Lenny Speiller (City of New Haven) | 203-725-4249 ; [email protected]
• Jackie Jena (Public Rights Project) | 917-214-4883 ; [email protected]