Shelter and Services Program (SSP)

Shelter and Services Program (SSP) is sponsored by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). The Shelter and Services Program (SSP) provides federal funds to eligible recipients and subrecipients for costs associated with providing shelter and other eligible services to noncitizen migrants who have been encountered and released by the Department of Homeland Security (DH…

FEMA withholds Shelter and Services Program payments to migrant shelters pending review | Immigration Policy Tracking Project FEMA withholds Shelter and Services Program payments to migrant shelters pending review FEMA sent a letter to grant recipients of FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program (SSP), asking for "contact information" for migrants who were served at their shelter facilities as well as “a detailed and descriptive list of specific services provided."

FEMA notified these organizations that additional funding would be held up while the agency conducted its review. Subpoenas were served in parallel by federal prosecutors on shelters in NYC. A redacted copy of one such letter dated March 11, 2025, is included as evidence of the new policy.

2025. 03. 11 FEMA Letter Withholding Funds to SSP Grantee Reported: FEMA launches review of migrant shelter aid, suggesting smuggling laws were violated -AP Subsequent Trump and Court Action 2025.

04. 02 Reported: Congress appropriated some FEMA money to house and aid migrants. Trump officials want it used to detain them - CNN CNN reports that FEMA notified SSP grantees that it was terminating grants associated with the program.

Administration officials are also purportedly "reviewing whether DHS has the authority to redistribute these program funds for immigration enforcement . .. given that the money was congressionally appropriated for a specific purpose."

According to a source, "[t]he legislative authority for this grant program is extremely broad . . .

Their interpretation is that providing shelter for an immigrant is tantamount to a detention bed." Subsequent Trump and Court Action 2025. 05.

16 Complaint - City Of Chicago v. Department of Homeland Security Chicago, Denver, and Pima County, Arizona, filed a lawsuit against DHS, alleging that the agency overstepped Congress's authority by abruptly rescinding funds intended to shelter and assist newly arrived migrants. The lawsuit claims DHS has effectively dismantled a Biden-era program without congressional approval.

The complaint centers on the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) Shelter and Services Program, which reimburses local governments and nonprofit organizations for providing temporary shelter and support to noncitizens released from DHS custody.

The plaintiffs allege their funding was unexpectedly "zeroed out" in February, shortly after Elon Musk tweeted that FEMA had violated an executive order by providing funds to New York City to support "illegals."

The complaint claims that the government's actions violate separation of powers principles, the spending clause, APA, and are ultra vires, and seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to block the termination of the Shelter and Services Program and associated funding actions. City of Chicago v. Dep't of Homeland Sec.

, No. 1:25-cv-05463 (N. D. Ill).

**Link to case here. Our litigation entries generally report only the initial complaint and any major substantive filings or decisions. For additional information, CourtListener provides access to PACER and all available pleadings.

Other sites that track litigation in more detail or organize cases by topic include Civil Rights Clearinghouse , Justice Action Center , National Immigration Litigation Alliance , and Just Security ** Subsequent Trump and Court Action 2025. 05.

24 Reported: Trump administration releases people to shelters it threatened to prosecute for aiding migrants - Associated Press The Associated Press reports ICE has continued to release noncitizens to nongovernmental shelters along the U.S.-Mexico border after FEMA told those same organizations that providing migrants with temporary housing and other aid could lead to felony charges for smuggling.

Despite the March 11 letter from FEMA indicating that aid to migrants may be illegal, ICE has proceeded to ask shelters in Texas and Arizona to receive people released from detention. Subsequent Trump and Court Action 2025. 07.

12 Order Granting TRO - City of Chicago v. Department of Homeland Security District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly issued a temporary restraining order enjoining DHS from reclaiming Shelter and Services Program funds.

Plaintiffs alleged that DHS had planned to redirect the funds to the so-called "Alligator Alcatraz" facility in Florida. The Court found that the defendants were likely to "effectively render the case moot, by reprogramming, transferring, de-obligating, or otherwise eliminating, the Shelter and Services Program grants to the plaintiffs," and that these anticipated actions may take place over the weekend.

It further found that these actions would cause irreparable harm to the plaintiffs. The temporary restraining order expires on July 16. City of Chicago v.

Dep't of Homeland Sec. , No. 1:25-cv-05463 (N. D.

Ill). **Link to case here . See litigation note above** Subsequent Trump and Court Action 2025.

07. 15 Order Denying TRO - City of Chicago v. Department of Homeland Security District Judge Matthew F.

Kennelly vacated the temporary restraining order from July 12, 2025 and set a briefing schedule for the plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction. City of Chicago v. Dep't of Homeland Sec.

, No. 1:25-cv-05463 (N. D. Ill).

**Link to case here . See litigation note above** Subsequent Trump and Court Action 2025. 09.

15 GAO Opinion - Application of the Impoundment Control Act to FEMA FY 2025 Federal Assistance Appropriations The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report finding that DHS violated the Impoundment Control Act, a law limiting the executive branch's power to withhold congressionally appropriated funds, by blocking payments appropriated for FEMA's SSP. Subsequent Trump and Court Action 2025. 09.

29 GAO Opinion - Application of the Impoundment Control Act to FEMA Prior Year Federal Assistance Appropriations The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued an opinion that FEMA violated the Impoundment Control Act by unlawfully withholding, delaying, or deobligating prior-year appropriated funds pursuant to executive-branch directives, without submitting the required special message to Congress.

GAO specifically found violations involving the Shelter and Services Program (SSP), the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP), and the Next Generation Warning System Grants Program (NGWSGP).

Original Trump Policy Status Trump Administration Action: Associated or Derivative Policies EO 14159 § 19 directs DOJ and DHS to review, pause, terminate, and claw back contracts or grants with NGOs serving "removable or illegal aliens" DHS detains noncitizens in Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz" Everglades facility 2025. 09.

16 Bloomberg - Trump Found to Flout Spending Law by Curbing Migrant Funds Bloomberg reports that DHS disputes the GAO report finding that the agency illegally withheld congressionally appropriated funds designated for migrant shelters. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated: "This allegation is nothing more than nitpicking a technicality to try to make FEMA look bad . .

. . The facts are that FEMA is going to award these funds, and no money is being impounded."

Trump-Era Policy Documents Complaint - City Of Chicago v. Department of Homeland Security Order Granting TRO - City of Chicago v. Department of Homeland Security Order Denying TRO - City of Chicago v.

Department of Homeland Security GAO Opinion - Application of the Impoundment Control Act to FEMA FY 2025 Federal Assistance Appropriations GAO Opinion - Application of the Impoundment Control Act to FEMA Prior Year Federal Assistance Appropriations To provide information, corrections, or feedback, please email To provide information, corrections, or feedback, please email Policies by Current Status Reflects degree to which the Trump-era policy remains in effect today.

Trump-era policies that have not been altered or eliminated. Policies that have not been fully eliminated but are not in effect in their original substance. They may have been amended, updated with changes, or eliminated or enjoined in some jurisdictions or with respect to some affected parties but not others.

Policies that have expired or been fully rescinded, replaced, enjoined, etc., or that were proposed but never were finalized. Indicates the entity that caused the action reflected in Type of Action. "Others" may include the Trump administration, Congress, unions, etc.--i.e., any actor other than the courts or the Biden Administration.

Type of Action Affecting Trump-era Policies Indicates the process or action by which a policy ceased to be in effect or became partially in effect. If no such action or process has take place, or if the policy has been ratified, it is fully in effect.