Washington state joins coalition suing Trump administration over illegal conditions placed on billions in federal funding

An update from Attorney General Nick Brown

SEATTLE — On May 13, 2025 Washington state and 19 other attorneys general filed two separate lawsuits against the Trump administration for threatening to withhold federal funding to states that do not assist the federal government’s immigration enforcement.

One lawsuit is against the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. The second is 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 keep the public safe and their transportation infrastructure secure.

Washington law does not interfere with the ability of federal officials to enforce federal immigration law but recognizes that doing so is not the job of state agencies, including law enforcement agencies. 

Under the Keep Washington Working Act, state and local law enforcement are prohibited from using their scarce resources to assist with federal civil immigration enforcement. 

The attorneys general emphasize that these federal conditions will also damage the carefully built trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities that is critical to promoting public safety.

“The President is once again acting illegally, threatening federal funding cuts without authority,” Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said.

“But the Trump administration cannot retaliate against our state for protecting the rights and dignity of all residents. Our state joined these two lawsuits because the federal funding threats present real and direct harms to our state.”

Last year, Washington state spent more than $500 million in DHS funding, and more than $1.1 billion in federal transportation funding. This money has supported:

• Fighting wildfires on public land;
• Enhancing cybersecurity for local cities, including improving technology at a wastewater treatment plant in Everett to prevent hackers from gaining access;
• Ensuring adequate security during large events, including the 2026 World Cup games in Washington; and 
• Funding programs to increase preparedness for earthquakes.

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 expectation that all state and local governments assist in federal immigration enforcement as a condition of receiving DOT funds. 

Those funds include grants for highway construction, public transportation maintenance, and competitive funds for airport and railway improvement.

Joining the Washington state Attorney General’s Office in filing the lawsuits are attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Vermont.

• The complaint against DHS is available here.
• The complaint against DOT is available here.