In unusual move, FEMA halts preparedness grant money, orders states to recount their populations excluding deported migrants

By CNN Newsource

Published October 2, 2025 5:18 PM

By Gabe Cohen, CNN

(CNN) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency has halted the release of hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency preparedness grants, requiring states to prove their population counts before they can access the money, the agency told CNN.

The agency contends that states may be getting inflated payments because most of the money is distributed proportionately based on state population.

The funds — called Emergency Management Performance Grants — totaled more than $300 million last year and help local communities prepare for disasters by paying for emergency management staff, training, equipment and public education.

The new rule adds another layer of bureaucracy and uncertainty for states already struggling to secure previously awarded federal funding as they face a series of grant program pauses, delays and rule changes at FEMA, several current and former FEMA officials told CNN.

States began receiving notices Tuesday that they must now submit a population certification as of September 30 detailing their methodology and confirming that individuals removed under US immigration laws are not included in the tally.

According to the notice, which CNN obtained, “FEMA will rescind the funding hold upon its review and approval of the State’s methodology and population certification.”

FEMA has historically used US Census data to measure state populations and determine grant allocations. Asking states to prove their populations is unprecedented, multiple FEMA officials told CNN.

“Recent population shifts, including deportations of illegal aliens, create a need for updated data to ensure equitable distribution,” a FEMA spokesperson said in a statement to CNN on Wednesday.

The notices to states were sent hours after a federal judge temporarily blocked the administration from diverting similar FEMA grants away from about a dozen Democratic-led states.

The FEMA spokesperson said the new requirement “applies to all states and is unrelated to recent federal court rulings.”

FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the agency, have not made clear to states how they will decide if a state’s population report is acceptable. Moreover, the ongoing government shutdown could create further delays, as many FEMA employees are furloughed.

For months, the Trump administration has threatened some blue states with funding cuts, especially those with so-called sanctuary immigration enforcement policies.

On Tuesday, a federal judge in Rhode Island blocked the administration from permanently redirecting hundreds of millions of dollars in preparedness and homeland security funds away from 11 Democratic-led states and Washington, DC. The funding at issue in the case includes the grants targeted in FEMA’s new directive.

FEMA had told the states they would get less than half of the expected $460 million in homeland security funds. New York and Illinois lost more than $130 million combined.

In court plaintiffs argued, “the current administration is taking money from its enemies,” pointing to comments from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who has said states with policies she opposes “should not receive a single dollar of the Department’s money.”

However, the issue may not be strictly partisan, as several Democratic-led states actually saw their homeland security grant allocations increase for the coming year, according to a source with knowledge of the data. Since President Donald Trump took office, his administration has been overhauling FEMA, vowing to shift more responsibility for disaster preparedness, response and recovery to the states. This directive is just the latest in a series of sudden changes leaving states unsure about future federal support for local emergency management.

The National Emergency Management Association, which represents emergency management directors across the country, warned that continued delays in FEMA funding are putting communities at risk by stalling critical preparedness, response and recovery efforts.

“These funds are the backbone of local emergency management programs,” a NEMA spokesperson wrote in a statement. “Without timely access, communities face gaps in readiness that could slow response to disasters and emergencies when every minute counts.”

FEMA and DHS have already shortened the time states have to spend grant money from three years to one, forcing states to rush to meet long-term goals in less than 12 months. They have also added an extra application step for recipients to access their awarded funds.