Fresno last week joined several other California and Oregon cities and counties in a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security for using President Donald Trump’s DEI and immigration compliance as conditions to receive federal first responders grants.

Attorneys for the approximately 11 governments say DHS, the Department of Justice, and the Department of the Interior use grant eligibility to promote Trump’s political agenda, violating the Constitution by taking power away from Congress.

“The conditions appear to require federal grant recipients to agree to promote the political agenda President Trump campaigned on during his run for office and has continued espousing since, including prohibiting all kinds of DEI, facilitating enforcement of federal immigration, or prohibiting the ‘promotion’ of ‘gender ideology,'” the lawsuit states.

Fresno City Councilmembers voted 6-0 to join the lawsuit, City Attorney Andrew Janz announced at the Thursday council meeting. Council Vice President Nelson Esparza was absent.

Other cities include Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Redwood City, Beaverton, Oregon, and Stockton. Counties include San Diego, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara.

A request for comment from DHS was not returned.

Fresno Did Not Apply for Police Grants Because of DEI, Immigration Requirements

Going back to at least 2016, Fresno has received tens of millions of dollars in DHS grants to hire firefighters, police, to help with investigations, or to help with water conservancy. In 2023, the federal government gave Fresno $7.4 million to hire firefighters under the SAFER grant. Two years before that, under the same grant, the city received nearly $13 million for the same purpose.

The city uses those grants to “help increase the number of firefighters to meet industry minimum standards and attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards, and to fulfill traditional missions of the fire department,” the lawsuit states.

In 2025, the city did not apply for Department of Justice grants for police officers because of the DEI and immigration requirements, the lawsuit stated.

“Absent judicial intervention, plaintiffs will continue to face the untenable choice of either acquiescing in unlawful conditions or forfeiting critical federal funding necessary to carry out essential public safety, public health, and environmental programs,” the lawsuit states.

Lawsuit: Trump Orders Illegal, Unconstitutional

The conditions come from numerous executive orders that Trump has signed since taking office.

The “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” order required that grant applicants submit certificates showing that they don’t use DEI as a hiring component.

The “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders” requires federal money not go to supporting “sanctuary city” policies.

Agencies followed Trump’s orders, updating the terms of their application process shortly after those orders came down.

The lawsuit says that not only are those orders illegal, but they overstep congressional authority. When Congress approved those grants, they did not put in any restrictions, the lawsuit states.

“While the executive branch is charged with faithfully executing the laws enacted by Congress, that duty does not include the power to unilaterally rewrite or expand the statutory terms under which federal funds are awarded,” the lawsuit states.

Cities/Counties Federal Grants Lawsuit