AG Nessel Joins Coalition Suing Trump Administration Over Illegal Immigration Conditions Placed on Billions in Federal Funding

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, along with a coalition of 19attorneys general, today filed two separate lawsuits against the Trump Administration for attempting to illegally coerce their states into sweeping immigration enforcement by threatening to withhold billions in federal funding for emergency services and infrastructure.

Attorney General Nessel and the coalition filed one lawsuit (PDF) against the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. The coalition filed a second lawsuit (PDF) against the Department of Transportation (DOT) and DOT Secretary Sean Duffy. Each agency has imposed sweeping new conditions that would require the states and state agencies to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts or lose out on billions of federal dollars that states use to protect public safety and transportation infrastructure.

“The Trump Administration is illegally tying immigration enforcement demands to vital federal funding grants that have absolutely nothing to do with immigration,” Nessel said. “These funds are meant to repair aging roads and bridges, strengthen public safety, and ensure law enforcement has the tools they need to act quickly in emergency situations. By clawing back this already-allocated funding, Donald Trump's White House is prioritizing political posturing over the safety and well-being of Americans, but I am committed to ensuring that our communities receive the resources they were promised.”

Attorney General Nessel and the attorneys general explain that Congress has established dozens of federal grant programs administered by FEMA and the DOT. The money Congress appropriated to those programs funds projects that range from disaster relief and flood mitigation to railroad, bridge, and airport construction.

In February, Secretary Noem directed DHS and its sub-agencies, including FEMA, to cease federal funding to jurisdictions that do not assist the federal government in the enforcement of federal immigration law. In March, DHS amended the terms and conditions it places on federal funds to require recipients to certify that they will assist in enforcing federal immigration law.

Soon after Noem’s decision, DOT Secretary Duffy issued a letter to grant recipients informing them of his intent to require all state and local governments to assist in federal immigration enforcement as a condition of obtaining DOT funds. Those funds include grants for highway construction, public transportation maintenance, and competitive funds for airport and railway improvement.

In recent weeks, state grant applicants have seen similar immigration-enforcement language added to the terms and conditions governing grants administered by the Federal Railroad Administration, the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration.

In their lawsuit against FEMA, Attorney General Nessel and the coalition point out that the immigration conditions exceed FEMA’s legal authority. The coalition further explains the conditions are unconstitutional because Congress appropriated the billions of federal dollars to help states prepare for, protect against, respond to, and recover from catastrophic disasters. The safety and well-being of Americans could be at risk if states are forced to forfeit hundreds of millions of dollars in federal emergency preparedness and response funds. The State of Michigan received more than $60 million in grants through DHS or its sub-agencies in 2024. The federal funding assisted in preventing and responding to emergency situations. In addition, the state received nearly $257 million from FEMA for specific disasters. Attorney General Nessel and the coalition emphasize these conditions will also damage the carefully built trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities that is critical to promoting public safety.  

In their lawsuit against the DOT, Attorney General Nessel and the coalition point out that imposing an immigration-enforcement condition on all federal transportation funds, which Congress appropriated to support critical infrastructure projects, is beyond the agency’s legal authority. The coalition states rely upon DOT money to fund highway development and airport safety projects, to prevent injuries and fatalities from traffic accidents, and to protect against train collisions.

Since 2021, the Michigan Department of Transporation has been awarded more than $771 million in federal grant funding from DOT to develop, maintain, and ensure safety on the state’s roads, highways, railways, airways, and waterways – $521,757,384 of which has not yet been obligated. Attorney General Nessel and the attorneys general contend that withholding the federal funding will damage public infrastructure across the country and will undermine public trust and cooperation in criminal investigations. In Michigan, withholding the already-allocated funding could delay or cancel grant-funded or other planned projects, including:

• The Grade Separation of M-85 and CN Railroad Project to eliminate a dangerous at-grade crossing on one of the Downriver Region’s busiest traffic corridors;
• The Manistee River Bridge Replacement Project to reconstruct the 100-year-old bridge to remove rail operational restrictions, improve system reliability, and increase economic output for the area; and
• The River Raisin Bridge and Interstate 75 Revitalization Project to reconstruct the bridge and associated interchange at the site.

Joining Attorney General Nessel in filing the lawsuits are attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, and Vermont.

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