Press Release: 5/8/2026
AG Campbell Protects Critical Homeland Security Funding From Politically Motivated Cut
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
5/07/2026
MEDIA CONTACT
Sydney Weiser, Deputy Communications Director
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Call Sydney Weiser, Deputy Communications Director at (617) 727-2543
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Email Sydney Weiser, Deputy Communications Director at sydney.weiser@mass.gov
BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced the successful resolution of a lawsuit to stop the Trump Administration from unlawfully allocating federal homeland security funding based on states' willingness to divert public safety resources to carry out the administration’s immigration enforcement agenda.
In December, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island granted a motion for summary judgment brought by AG Campbell and a coalition of 11 other attorneys general and the governor of Pennsylvania. The Trump Administration initially appealed the ruling, but dropped the appeal, ending the case.
“This victory makes clear that the Trump Administration cannot punish states for refusing to carry out its harmful immigration agenda – especially by withholding critical funding needed to prepare for and respond to disasters and emergencies,” said AG Campbell. “I will continue to hold the federal government accountable when it tries to put politics ahead of the safety and security of Massachusetts residents.”
On Sept. 27, 2025, without any notice or explanation and four days before the end of the federal fiscal year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) significantly cut funding to certain states that are unwilling to divert law enforcement resources away from core public safety services to assist in enforcing federal immigration law, while reallocating those funds to other states.
FEMA issued award notifications in September for its single largest grant program, the Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP), which allocates approximately $1 billion in funds annually for state and municipal efforts to prevent, prepare for and respond to acts of terrorism. FEMA granted only $250 million to the 12 states that joined AG Campbell in the lawsuit. This was a $242 million, or 49%, reduction from the total amount that FEMA had previously stated it would provide to these states. FEMA then redistributed the funds that it had cut to other states.
The U.S. District Court ordered DHS to amend the HSGP awards issued to the plaintiff states to reflect the funding levels that DHS had previously stated it would allocate, before the last-minute changes. The Court further held that other significant changes to emergency-preparedness programs, also made at the last minute at the end of the federal fiscal year, were unlawful and set them aside.
Joining AG Campbell in filing the lawsuit were the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, and the governor of Pennsylvania.