US agency halts emergency funds, demands state population data reflecting deportations

* FEMA says it stopped release of Emergency Management Performance Grants * FEMA says states must provide population data reflecting deportations by Trump administration * Trump has maintained hard-line immigration agenda, sought to cut FEMA funding By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON, Oct 3 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency said on Friday it stopped distributing funds for emergency preparedness to states until they provide updated population counts that account for migrants deported since President Donald Trump took office. The emergency preparedness funds put on hold, called emergency management performance grants, help local communities to prepare for disasters. The website for FEMA, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, notes that the program was allocated $319.5 million for fiscal year 2025. The Trump administration has said it will not provide DHS funding to local governments unless they agree to support federal immigration enforcement, end programs that support diversity or that provide benefits to immigrants in the U.S. illegally, and comply with Trump's other executive orders. Trump ordered the Commerce Department in August to begin work on a new census that excludes immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally, revisiting a push from his first term that was later rejected by the courts. The Trump administration has maintained a hard-line immigration agenda, which was a key part of Trump's campaign promises, and engaged in a deportation drive that has drawn criticism from human rights advocates. Trump, who took office in January, has also said he wants to gut or abolish FEMA, and has frequently said he wanted states to have primary responsibility for responding to disasters. FEMA has raised concerns about what it calls inflated payments. An agency spokesperson said on Friday the emergency preparedness grant was awarded "based solely on population data." The spokesperson added that recent population shifts, including deportations of immigrants, had created a need for updated data to ensure equitable distribution. "This requirement applies to all states and is unrelated to recent federal court rulings," the spokesperson said. On Tuesday, a federal judge in Rhode Island temporarily blocked the Trump administration from cutting $233 million in grant funds for Democratic-led states. CNN reported that states began receiving notices on Tuesday that they must now submit a population certification as of September 30 detailing their methodology and confirming that individuals removed under U.S. immigration laws are not included in the tally. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Ted Hesson and Edmund Klamann)

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