Declines to Stop Unlawful Destruction of Critical Funding Program

Greenbelt, MD – A coalition of civil rights and immigration service organizations today decried the denial of a preliminary injunction that would have temporarily halted the Trump-Vance administration’s unlawful dismantling of a critical Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant funding program to help green card holders looking to become U.S. citizens. The disappointing ruling comes in Solutions In Hometown Connections et al v. Noem, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in March and argues that DHS’s broad and arbitrary decision to suspend grants and later terminate the entire Citizenship and Integration Grant Program (CIGP) is unlawful and unconstitutional, and is causing ongoing harm to communities across the country.

The plaintiffs in the case are nonprofit organizations that provide citizenship instruction, naturalization assistance, and legal representation for lawful permanent residents looking to become U.S. citizens, including Solutions in Hometown Connections, Central American Resource Center, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, Community Center for Immigrants Incorporated, English Skills Learning Center, Michigan Organizing Project, D/B/A Michigan United, HIAS Pennsylvania, the Instituto del Progreso Latino, Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, and the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. Plaintiffs in the matter are represented by Democracy Forward, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC, and LatinoJustice PRLDEF. 

“Today’s order will further jeopardize our clients’ ability to provide citizenship and naturalization assistance to green card holders across the country,” said Bradley Girard, Senior Counsel for Democracy Forward. “The administration’s actions are not only unlawful and unconstitutional, but also cruel and harmful to communities across the country. The executive branch does not have authority to freeze or refuse to spend funds that Congress appropriated for specific programs, and DHS had no reason to shutter this vital grant program. We are disappointed with this decision, and are committed to representing our brave clients with every legal tool available as the case continues.” 

“We disagree with the court that DHS can simply defund a grant program that Congress explicitly allocated money for because of their anti-immigrant policy preferences. The ruling leaves millions of lawful permanent residents (LPRs), your neighbors or friends who are eligible to naturalize, without assistance to overcome the barriers to citizenship,” said Niyati Shah, Director of Litigation for Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC. “Given this administration’s practice of deporting first and asking questions later, these individuals need access to civics and English classes and other support now more than ever. We will continue to aggressively seek all available paths to remedy this problem.”

“We are deeply disappointed by the court’s decision to deny our motion for preliminary injunctive relief despite it recognizing the critical work and the harm caused by dismantling the program,” said Lourdes M. Rosado, President and General Counsel of LatinoJustice PRLDEF. “This ruling keeps in place the government’s termination of the programs, causing immediate harm to thousands of aspiring new Americans and the community organizations that serve them. We remain committed to pursuing our legal options to address this initiative.”

The case challenges the dismantling of the CIGP, a long-standing grant program run by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that Congress specifically appropriated funding for. The dismantling of this program began with a sweeping policy implemented by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem following an executive order signed by President Trump on his first day in office. The initial policy directed DHS to freeze all funding to organizations that support or provide services to noncitizens, including lawful permanent residents and asylum seekers. Two days after the organizations in this case filed their initial motion for a temporary restraining order, DHS terminated every single CIGP grant via a mass email and form letter that provided no reasoning or justification for the decision. As a result, critical funding streams for citizenship education and naturalization assistance have been cut, jeopardizing programs that serve thousands of individuals nationwide.

The lawsuit argues that the dismantling of the CIGP violates multiple federal laws, including the Administrative Procedure Act, the Homeland Security Act, two appropriations acts, and agency regulations. The plaintiffs assert that the Trump-Vance administration lacks the legal authority to unilaterally withhold funds appropriated by Congress and that the freeze is an arbitrary and capricious action that undermines statutorily mandated programs.

The legal team at Democracy Forward on this case includes Bradley Girard, Sarah M. Rich, Adnan Perwez, and Robin F. Thurston. 

The amended complaint can be found here. 

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Democracy Forward is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.