(The Center Square) — The Trump administration is seeking to claw back $188 million in federal grants to New York City to cover migrant costs, but city leaders are vowing to challenge the move in court.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency sent a letter to the city last week informing officials that the agency plans to terminate three grants under the Shelter and Services Program, including about $80 million the agency withdrew from the city’s bank account in February. The Trump administration alleges that the money was being spent to support “illegal” immigration.
FEMA’s acting director, Cameron Hamilton, wrote in the letter that the “individuals receiving these services often have no legal status and are in the United States unlawfully” and that the grant program is “inconsistent” with the Trump administration’s priorities.
“The department, consistent with President Trump’s direction, is focused on advancing the essential mission of enforcing immigration laws and securing the border,” Hamilton said.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who has praised some of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, said the city will challenge the move and “fight for every penny” related to migrant costs.
“Like their previous actions clawing back appropriated funds, these steps are unlawful, and the New York City Law Department is currently determining the best legal recourse to take to ensure that this money remains in New York City, where it was allocated and belongs,” Adams, a Democrat, said in a statement.
The congressionally approved FEMA grants were meant to help states, cities and nonprofit groups provide shelter and other taxpayer-funded services for migrants following a historic surge of immigration on the U.S.-Mexico border under the former Biden administration.
New York City has spent an estimated $7 billion on housing and other costs for more than 230,000 migrants who have arrived since early 2022, with about 45,000 individuals still under its care, according to the Adams administration.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced in February that the Trump administration “clawed back” $80 million in federal funding for New York City’s migrant costs. Noem said she pulled the FEMA grants because the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which she alleged was using the Roosevelt Hotel as its “base of operations,” was benefiting from the federal funding.
New York City filed a lawsuit on Feb. 21 alleging that the “long arm of the federal government” illegally seized the FEMA funds approved by Congress to help reimburse the city for migrant costs. However, U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rearden of Manhattan declined to issue a temporary restraining order blocking the seizure of the federal funding while the legal challenge plays out.
