FEMA Halts $320 Million in Grants Over Population Data

The Federal Emergency Management Agency suspended the distribution of approximately $319.5 million in Emergency Management Performance Grants for the 2025 fiscal year on October 3. The agency now requires states and territories to certify population figures as of September 30, specifically excluding illegal immigrants deported under the current administration's crackdown. This shift moves away from the previous practice of relying exclusively on U.S. Census Bureau data.

FEMA officials stated the measure prevents fraud and corrects inflated payments caused by population shifts. This action aligns with a presidential order for the Department of Commerce to conduct a new census that excludes illegal immigrants and follows a Department of Homeland Security report noting over two million deportations since January.

The National Emergency Management Association criticized the move as an unprecedented bureaucratic hurdle that delays essential disaster resources. The funding pause occurs as the administration seeks to shift more disaster management responsibility to the states and conditions other Department of Homeland Security funds on local government support for federal immigration enforcement. Separately, a federal judge in Rhode Island recently blocked the administration from cutting $233 million in grants specifically targeted at Democratic-led states, while the Government Accountability Office found the administration violated the Impoundment Control Act by withholding FEMA grants.