New York Attorney General Letitia James filed two lawsuits against President Donald Trump’s administration Tuesday.
James, a longtime legal opponent of Trump, joined 19 other attorneys general in filing the lawsuits, the first of which claims DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has threatened to cut off “emergency preparedness” funding if states do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. The second lawsuit targets the Department of Transportation on similar grounds, arguing it is unconstitutional to withhold funds to coerce immigration compliance.
“DHS is holding states hostage by forcing them to choose between disaster preparedness and enabling the administration’s illegal and chaotic immigration agenda,” James said in a statement. “This funding is vital to keeping New Yorkers safe during hurricanes, floods, and other catastrophes.
“The federal government cannot weaponize disaster relief to coerce states into abandoning public safety and community trust. My office will fight to ensure all New Yorkers are protected — both from tragic disasters and from cruel and unnecessary immigration policies.”
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The lawsuit claims the Trump administration has presented states “with an impossible choice.”
“Either they forego millions of dollars in federal funds that Congress has appropriated — and which their emergency preparedness and response efforts rely on — or they undermine their law enforcement efforts by diverting their resources to enforce federal immigration law,” James’ office wrote.
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The DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
In the DOT lawsuit, the attorneys general argue the department’s conditions for receiving funding “put billions in federal funding necessary for vital public safety and reliable transportation projects at risk, including those that prevent injuries and deaths from traffic accidents, protect riders from train collisions, and help improve airport safety measures.”
The DOT also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuits come during a massive immigration crackdown by the Trump administration, which has deported over 130,000 illegal immigrants since Trump’s inauguration.
Apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border have plummeted 93% under the new administration, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection released Monday.
The CBP says it averaged 279 apprehensions per day at the southern border in April, compared to 4,297 apprehensions in April 2024. The total apprehensions for April this year landed at 8,383, compared to last year’s 129,000.
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CBP officials also noted that just five illegal aliens were temporarily released into the U.S. during April, compared to 68,000 during the same month last year.
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“For the first time in years, more agents are back in the field patrolling territories that CBP didn’t have the bandwidth or manpower to oversee just six months ago,” said Pete Flores, acting commissioner of CBP. “But thanks to this administration’s dramatic shift in security posture at our border, we are now seeing operational control becoming a reality, and it’s only just beginning.”
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