Disaster relief is not a political bargaining chip.

But right now, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is attempting to withhold critical FEMA funding from states unless they agree to assist with federal immigration enforcement — even after a federal judge ruled the tactic unconstitutional.

A federal judge in Rhode Island accused DHS of trying to “bully” states into submission by attaching illegal immigration-related conditions to FEMA disaster grants. Judge William Smith ordered the department to stop — and yet the same conditions reportedly remain buried in new grant agreements.

This means that unless states promise to commit local law enforcement and public safety resources to civil immigration enforcement — beyond what their laws allow — they risk losing federal support for:

• Wildfire response
• Hurricane recovery
• Earthquake mitigation
• Emergency management in rural and tribal areas
   

We, the undersigned, call on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the FEMA Administrator, and the White House to:

• Immediately remove all immigration-related conditions from FEMA disaster aid
• Comply with the court ruling and amend all grant documents accordingly
• Cease efforts to coerce states into federal enforcement agreements unrelated to disaster relief.
   

Disasters don’t care about politics — and neither should our disaster response.

Using lifesaving federal aid to pressure states into unrelated immigration enforcement duties is unethical, unconstitutional, and a direct threat to communities who rely on fast, impartial disaster assistance.

This is not about opposing immigration enforcement. It’s about protecting the systems that are designed to save lives, not advance political agendas.

Sign this petition to demand DHS stop withholding disaster aid over immigration politics — and to ensure FEMA remains focused on what it was created to do: help Americans in crisis.