Good afternoon: I am passing along two new lawsuits that were filed by Chicago today (one was Chicago, Denver, and Pima County). 1. Chicago v. United States Department of Homeland Security. Chicago filed this lawsuit to enjoin the defendants from freezing funding under the Securing Cities counter terrorism program (STC) and to require the defendants to process pending and future reimbursement requests pursuant to law. STC seeks to prevent nuclear and other terrorist attacks in high-risk urban areas. Chicago alleges that DHS has ignored Chicago's requests for reimbursement under the agreement it has in place with DHS and which is authorized by Congress. The complaint alleges that DHS is violating the separation of powers, that its actions are ultra vires, and that it is violating the APA. 1. City of Chicago v. Department of Homeland Security, et. al (SSP). This is a lawsuit brought by Chicago, Denver, and Pima County over grant funding that was frozen under the Shelter and Services Program (SSP) and then ultimately terminated. Since the first Trump Administration, Congress has appropriated funds to reimburse non-federal entities for costs incurred helping migrants whom DHS processed and released into the United States. Congress continued this support in 2022 by enacting the Shelter and Services Program, appropriating funds for that purpose and requiring FEMA to administer the Program. Although FEMA had regularly disbursed these funds for years to grantees including local governments, in February 2025, FEMA zeroed out all SSP grant balances and then sent letters to grantees indicating the money was being withheld while it investigated if any grantees had violated federal harboring law. FEMA then terminated the grants based on FEMA's determination that the grants do not effectuate the agency's new priorities. The plaintiffs allege the defendants have violated the separation of powers, the Spending Clause, that its actions are ultra vires and beyond its legal authority, and that it violated the APA. Thanks, Amanda [logo]<https://imla.org/> [facebook icon]<https://www.facebook.com/InternationalMunicipalLawyersAssociation/>[twitter icon]<https://twitter.com/imlalegal>[linkedin icon]<https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-municipal-lawyers-association-inc./> Amanda Karras (she/her) Executive Director / General Counsel International Municipal Lawyers Association P: (202) 466-5424 x7116 D: (202) 742-1018 51 Monroe St. Suite 404 Rockville, MD, 20850 Plan Ahead! See IMLA's upcoming events<https://imla.org/events/>, calls and programming.