- FEMA has frozen hundreds of millions in disaster preparedness grants, suspending funds from the Emergency Management Performance Grant program that state and local governments rely on for personnel, equipment and training.
- The freeze is due to a new demand that states certify their population counts, which must exclude individuals removed from the country under recent large-scale immigration enforcement actions.
- FEMA justifies the move by claiming past population data is "obsolete," arguing that the removal of millions of immigrants means the U.S. Census Bureau figures no longer reflect the true population for funding calculations.
- This creates a major bureaucratic hurdle for states, which must now produce unprecedented, certified population reports, a process complicated by a federal government shutdown that has furloughed FEMA staff.
- The action is part of a broader political effort to alter how population counts influence federal funding, with critics arguing it prioritizes political ideology over public safety and leaves communities vulnerable by delaying essential disaster preparedness.
In a move that has sent shockwaves through state emergency management offices, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has unilaterally frozen the distribution of hundreds of millions of dollars in critical disaster preparedness grants. The agency is demanding that states provide new population certifications that exclude individuals removed from the country through recent large-scale deportation efforts, a decision that critics argue prioritizes political ideology over public safety and leaves American communities vulnerable.
The suspension, confirmed by FEMA on October 3, directly impacts the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) program. This program is a financial lifeline for state, local, tribal and territorial governments, providing them with the necessary funds to build resilience against natural disasters. The grants pay for essential personnel, specialized training, life-saving equipment and public education campaigns designed to keep citizens safe when hurricanes, floods or wildfires strike.
FEMA's justification for this unprecedented freeze centers on the claim of "inflated payments." The agency asserts that the current population data is now obsolete. According to FEMA, this data no longer reflects the nation's true population following the deportation, or voluntary return, of millions of illegal immigrants under President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement initiatives.
The mechanics of funding
The EMPG program is not a minor budgetary line item. For the 2025 fiscal year, nearly $320 million was allocated to this program. The distribution of these funds is heavily weighted by population size, meaning states with larger populations typically receive a larger share of the grant money. The core purpose of the program is to help jurisdictions implement the National Preparedness System, with a stated goal of creating what FEMA describes as "a secure and resilient nation."
A FEMA spokesperson was quick to clarify that this freeze is a nationwide order, applying to every state and U.S. territory without political distinction. The agency insists this action is separate from a recent federal court ruling in Rhode Island that temporarily blocked the administration from cutting $233 million in other grants specifically from Democratic-led states. However, the timing has raised eyebrows among emergency management professionals.
This funding suspension is inextricably linked to the administration's aggressive immigration enforcement agenda. The Department of Homeland Security announced in late September that over two million illegal immigrants have been removed from the country since January. This figure includes both physical deportations and individuals who left voluntarily through programs like the Customs and Border Protection Home App.
The administration has framed this enforcement as a public safety necessity. The White House press secretary stated that the strategy specifically targets individuals connected to serious crimes, including drug trafficking, human trafficking, murder and assault. This narrative of removing criminal elements has been a central theme of the administration's policy justifications.
Conflict over population counts and federal funding
The freeze on preparedness grants is part of a much larger political and legal conflict over population counts and federal funding. In August, President Trump ordered the Department of Commerce to conduct a new national census that would exclude illegal immigrants. This directive has far-reaching implications, affecting not only disaster grants but also the formulas that determine congressional representation and the allocation of Electoral College votes.
For state emergency managers, the FEMA freeze creates a bureaucratic nightmare. States have now begun receiving formal notices requiring them to submit a "population certification" as of September 30. This report must meticulously detail the state's methodology for counting its residents and must explicitly confirm that individuals removed under U.S. immigration laws are not included in their tally.
This new requirement is without recent precedent. For decades, FEMA and other federal agencies have relied on the official data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau to make these determinations. The demand for states to now produce their own certified counts, using a specific federal filter, adds a complex and time-consuming layer to a process that was previously straightforward.
The immediate practical effect of this policy is delay. Emergency officials across the country warn that this new certification hurdle will worsen existing bottlenecks in the federal funding pipeline. Compounding the problem, FEMA has recently shortened the timeline for states to spend grant money from three years down to just one, creating a contradictory pressure to meet long-term preparedness goals at an accelerated pace.
"The role of FEMA is to reduce loss of life and property and protect critical infrastructure from all hazards through a comprehensive program of mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery," said Brighteon.AI's Enoch. With this freeze, however, critics argue that the agency has chosen to make disaster preparedness contingent on the politically charged recalculation of the American populace.
Watch as Kristi Noem says Trump should get rid of FEMA.
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