Attorney General Ellison sues Trump Administration over illegal immigration conditions placed on billions in federal funding
Coalition of attorneys general fight to protect funds used for emergency services and infrastructure projects
May 13, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) — Attorney General Ellison, as part of a coalition of 19 attorneys general, today filed two separate lawsuits against the Trump Administration for attempting to illegally coerce states into sweeping immigration enforcement by threatening to withhold billions in federal funding for emergency services and infrastructure.
Attorney General Ellison and the coalition filed one lawsuit against the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. The coalition filed a second lawsuit against the Department of Transportation (DOT) and DOT Secretary Sean Duffy. Each agency has imposed sweeping new conditions that would force the states and state agencies to conduct immigration enforcement, which is a duty of federal law enforcement, or lose out on billions of federal dollars that states use to protect public safety and transportation infrastructure.
Attorney General Ellison released the following statement upon the filing of these lawsuits:
“Law enforcement agents across Minnesota work hard to protect and serve their communities, and we are truly grateful for all they do. Decisions about how police resources should be allocated to maintain public safety are made at the local level because every community has different safety needs. It is both wrong and unlawful for the Trump Administration to demand Minnesota law enforcement step away from their patrols, investigations, and community-engagement work to instead enforce federal immigration law. Furthermore, it is deeply disturbing that the Trump Administration is threatening to withhold important disaster relief and public safety funds if we do not do their job for them. This make Minnesota less safe, and I will not allow that to happen."
Attorney General Ellison and the coalition explain that Congress has established dozens of federal grant programs administered by FEMA and the DOT. The money Congress appropriated to those programs pays for projects that range from disaster relief and flood mitigation to railroad, bridge, and airport construction and maintenance to training first responders and more.
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 agencies with grants from the federal government 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 Ellison and the coalition point out that the immigration-enforcement 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. Separation of Powers means that the President cannot infringe on Congress's power of the purse by countermanding funding allocated by Congress because he disagrees with state policy. Further, allowing the President to impose onerous funding conditions like the ones here would also undermine Minnesota's sovereign rights in violation of the Tenth Amendment. 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 Minnesota uses funds from FEMA to work with local law enforcement to fight crime, provide incident management support after natural disasters, purchase bomb squad equipment, train first responders, and more. Attorney General Ellison 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 Ellison 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. Under the Biden Administration, Minnesota received more than $1.3 billion in grants which funded freight and highway projects, bridge construction and upkeep, and much more. Attorney General Ellison and the coalition contend that withholding the federal funding will damage public infrastructure across the county and will undermine public trust and cooperation in criminal investigations.
Joining Attorney General Ellison in filing the lawsuits are attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin and Vermont.
