Denver has joined the lawsuit against the Trump administration for what the city describes as its "unlawful and unconstitutional move to revoke federal funding awarded to local jurisdictions." The City of Denver joins the City of Chicago and Pima County, Arizona, in the lawsuit. 

"While Donald Trump has time and again tried to divide the country instead of finding bipartisan solutions on immigration, the people of Denver stood up and stood together to help people in need," said Denver Mayor Mike Johnston in a statement. "The Shelter and Services Program was intended for the sole purpose of reimbursing cities who did exactly that while following all federal, state, and local laws. Now, the Trump administration is illegally trying to punish cities who did the work the federal government couldn't. I am incredibly proud of how our city responded to this crisis and will continue to fight for the funding we were awarded but have not received." 

According to the city, Since the first Trump Administration, Congress has appropriated funds to reimburse communities and states for costs incurred supporting migrants who were processed and released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) into the United States per federal immigration policy. In 2022, Congress continued this program with bipartisan support through the Shelter and Services Program (SSP), administered through FEMA, and intended for the sole purpose of reimbursing cities for the services necessitated by the federal government's immigration policies.  

The need for the SSP program was and is clear.  In 2022, Texas Governor Greg Abbott began bussing migrants to cities across the country, including many of the more than 43,000 people who arrived in Denver with nothing but the clothes on their backs and no opportunity to work.  Denver responded to this crisis – that we neither created nor asked for – to prevent thousands of families from living on our streets in the cold, maintain public safety, and ensure the city continued to run smoothly.   

According to Denver, FEMA awarded grants to reimburse the costs for providing services as required by congressional appropriation. Once Trump took office, the city claims his administration took action to zero out all congressionally-approved SSP grant balances without informing grantees. 

Denver asserts that the federal government's actions are unconstitutional because they attempt to override Congress's constitutional authority to appropriate funds. They also maintain that the federal government violated the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to provide a reasoned basis for its actions.