City Joins Lawsuits to Block Federal Cuts to Public Safety, Housing
The City of Albuquerque has vowed to fight and to join two lawsuits challenging President Trump’s efforts to cut millions of dollars committed to the City, which include salaries and equipment for police officers and affordable housing.
The Trump administration has adopted policies that threaten Albuquerque’s federal funding for police officers, law enforcement equipment, public housing, and more. The City filed a motion to join a coalition of cities and counties, including Santa Fe, Denver, San Francisco, Baltimore, and more than 30 others in a case filed in the Northern District of California on Tuesday. On Thursday, the city officially joined a King County, Washington lawsuit against the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Department of Transportation, to fight threats to federal funds earmarked for grants addressing housing insecurity and homelessness in Albuquerque.
“Federal policies are putting essential services and Albuquerque families at risk. We need to ensure our police officers are well-equipped and fairly paid, and that vulnerable people aren’t pushed further into homelessness,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “We’re calling on the Trump administration to stop using law enforcement funding as a political weapon over immigration.”
The Department of Justice funding accounts for a large portion of the Albuquerque Police Department’s budget—upwards of $17 million—which includes paying dozens of officers’ salaries, providing needed equipment, processing sexual assault evidence kit backlogs, and more. Albuquerque’s 2026 budget also includes $563,500 in Department of Homeland Security funding that is at risk.
“As the President of Major Cities Chiefs Association, I raised concerns directly with the Attorney General because of the significant impact this loss of funding could have on Albuquerque police resources,” said Chief Harold Medina. “The loss of DOJ and DHS grants would hamper APD’s overall ability to provide vital public safety services, such as processing evidence, investigating drug trafficking, connecting victims to services, paying officers who serve the community, and ultimately APD’s ability to solve crimes.”
Albuquerque expects to receive an additional $75.4 million in federal multi-year grants budgeted in prior years, largely for public infrastructure projects such as affordable housing, transitional housing, rapid rehousing, social service contracts, park development, HUD grants, FEMA grants, and investments in programs to address homelessness and affordable housing. In short, these funds help keep people from being unhoused.
“There’s an immediate need for more affordable housing across our City to uplift the most vulnerable, and funding we receive through HUD is an irreplaceable resource needed to keep building,” said Gilbert Ramirez, Director of the Department of Health, Housing and Homelessness. “These grants also keep people in their homes through key programming like our eviction prevention program, rental assistance, and more. Through proposed cuts to funding, the Trump Administration is choosing to stand against families, children, and senior citizens, and we must push back.”
There are multiple new conditions being put on these funds, mainly focused on forcing cities to participate in federal immigration efforts. The City and our partners believe that new conditions being forced on cities are unlawful, unconstitutional, and unconscionable. For example, the Trump administration wants cities to keep a database of residents and share it with federal agencies and more.
The cases include: San Francisco V. Trump and Martin Luther King Kr. County V. Turner.