"The agency is demanding certification that population counts, used to determine grant allocations, exclude people who have been recently removed from the country."

"The Federal Emergency Management Agency is withholding more than $300 million in emergency preparedness grants from states until they can prove that their population estimates, used to calculate award amounts, do not include people who have been deported from the United States.

A group representing state emergency management agencies called it “a never-before-seen provision” with the effect of “further delaying resources intended to strengthen disaster preparedness and emergency response.”

Under the law governing the way these grants are allocated, the U.S. Census Bureau is the specified data source, leaders of the National Emergency Management Association wrote in a memo shared with The New York Times.

FEMA enacted the policy “to prevent fraud and abuse,” said Daniel Llargues, an agency spokesman."

Scott Dance reports for the New York Times October 3, 2025. [2]