Original Date Announced

DHS updated the terms and conditions that apply to all new federal grants in fiscal year 2025. The terms and conditions were originally released in October 2024. The updates add a new set of criteria titled “Communication and Cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration Officials.”

The new criteria mandate that grant beneficiaries, inter alia:

• Comply with statutes prohibiting restrictions on information-sharing by state and local governments with DHS about the citizenship or immigration status of any individual;
• Follow immigration laws that prohibit encouraging undocumented immigrants to enter or reside in the U.S., and also prohibit harboring, concealing, or shielding undocumented immigrants from detection, or engaging in conspiracy, aiding, or abetting an attempt to violate immigration statutes;
• Honor requests for cooperation, such as participation in joint operations, sharing of information, or requests for short-term detention of a noncitizen pursuant to a valid detainer;
• Provide access to detainees, including when immigration officers seek to interview individuals who may be removable;
• Not leak or publicize the existence of immigration-enforcement operations.

Trump 2.0 [ID #1669]

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.11.12 Complaint - Chicago v. DOJ

The cities of Chicago, IL and Saint Paul, MN sued the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over its policy of conditioning disbursement of public-safety grants to cities on their cooperation with federal immigration-enforcement. Plaintiffs alleged that DOJ lacks authority to impose such conditions, including requiring grant recipients to certify compliance with 8 U.S.C. § 1373, which bars state and local governments from prohibiting their agencies and officials to share individuals' immigration status and information with ICE.

The complaint alleges that this condition, as well as others on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) restrictions, violate constitutional separation-of-powers requirements, the Spending Clause, the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and exceed agency authority to act. Moreover, the immigration-related condition is unlawful because § 1373 itself violates the Tenth Amendment, and the federal government cannot compel Plaintiffs to comply. The suit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, including a declaration that § 1373 is unconstitutional. City of Chicago v. Department of Justice, 1:25-cv-13863 (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**