Applaud the Court for Protecting Disaster Relief from Trump

In a major win for the rule of law and for public safety, a federal judge in Rhode Island has struck down Donald Trump’s attempt to hold disaster relief hostage to his anti-immigrant agenda.

Judge William Smith ruled that the Trump administration’s scheme — conditioning FEMA disaster funds on states’ cooperation with immigration enforcement — was unconstitutional, coercive, and arbitrary. The court made clear: lifesaving aid for floods, fires, and hurricanes cannot be used as a bargaining chip for political retribution.

Thanks to the leadership of 20 Democratic state attorneys general, communities across the country will keep access to billions in emergency funding that protects families in moments of crisis. This decision reaffirms a vital principle: disaster relief is about saving lives, not enforcing partisan ideology.

Add your name to applaud this powerful ruling, thank the states who stood up to Trump’s unlawful demands, and defend the right of every community to receive disaster aid without political strings attached.