Salem, Oregon – Nearly $10 million a year helps Oregon prepare for terrorism, cyberattacks and other major threats. Attorney General Dan Rayfield says the federal government is now using that safety money as political leverage.
Rayfield has joined a 26-state coalition in suing the Trump administration over new conditions attached to billions of dollars in federal counterterrorism and emergency funding. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, seeks to stop federal agencies from tying public safety grants to immigration enforcement and election policy changes.
The money was authorized by Congress to help states prepare for emergencies, natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Rayfield argues that the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are attempting to redirect those funds toward unrelated administration priorities.
“The Trump Administration is playing politics with people’s lives and with the safety of our communities,” Rayfield said.
“Oregonians know firsthand what it takes to recover from wildfires, floods, and ice storms – we don’t need the federal government using natural disasters or terrorist threats to score political points.”
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Under the disputed conditions, states would be required to assist federal immigration enforcement efforts. Rayfield’s office says that could pull local law enforcement personnel and resources away from state and community priorities.
States could also lose 20% of their counterterrorism funding unless they change election laws to match federal demands. Those demands include providing DHS with personal information belonging to every registered voter.
The rules would also allow FEMA to cancel a grant at any time and for any reason. The coalition argues that such uncertainty would make it difficult for states and local agencies to plan long-term security programs.
More than $1 billion in Homeland Security Grant Program funding is affected nationwide. Oregon receives almost $10 million annually through that program to support efforts aimed at preventing, preparing for and responding to terrorism and other security threats.
This is not Rayfield’s first court fight over similar restrictions. He prevailed in two Rhode Island federal cases in 2025 involving immigration-related grant conditions and efforts to withhold homeland security funding from states viewed as opposing the president’s agenda.
The new lawsuit argues that the 2026 conditions violate the federal Administrative Procedure Act and the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Rayfield is joined by attorneys general from 23 other states and the District of Columbia, along with the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania. The coalition is asking the court to prevent DHS and FEMA from enforcing the conditions before states are forced to choose between federal funding and control over their own laws and public safety resources.
