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A coalition of 20 states and the District of Columbia has filed an amicus brief urging the First Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate a decision blocking the Trump administration’s abrupt cancellation of $30 million in federal fair housing grants.

The states argue that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) acted unlawfully when it revoked 78 pre-approved Fair Housing Initiative Program (FHIP) grants in February without prior notice or justification. The grants, which support critical enforcement, outreach, and education work by nonprofit fair housing organizations, account for more than half of these groups’ funding.

“FHIP organizations have already been forced to lay off staff, suspend investigations, and even cease operations entirely,” the brief states. “The grant cuts pose an existential threat to fair housing efforts across the nation.”

HUD claimed the funding cuts were due to a shift in agency priorities but failed to provide substantive reasoning or follow standard rulemaking procedures. The states argue this lack of explanation violates federal law and administrative norms established under FCC v. Fox Television Stations Inc., which requires agencies to weigh the impact of policy changes on reliant parties.

“These housing organizations are the first line of defense against discrimination,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “Cutting their funding in the middle of a national housing crisis is reckless and unjustified.”

The brief also warns that the cuts will exacerbate the country’s ongoing affordable housing shortage and undermine state-level efforts to combat housing discrimination.

The case, Massachusetts Fair Housing Center et al. v. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, follows a previous temporary restraining order that was lifted after a high court ruling in a similar federal funding case involving education grants. The fair housing groups have since appealed, and the states are now backing that appeal.

The plaintiffs are represented by Relman Colfax PLLC and Heisler Feldman & McCormick PC. The government is represented by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.