Pima County officials are suing the federal government over a funding freeze that occurred earlier this year and has cost the county roughly $12 million.
The lawsuit also includes Chicago, the city of Denver and Denver County.
The jurisdictions say they are owed millions in federal funding that the Department of Homeland Security was supposed to pay them for helping the government care for asylum seekers who are legally processed into the U.S. by the Border Patrol.
DHS is in charge of the disaster response agency FEMA — which used to have a program that reimbursed cities and counties for costs they incurred while providing short-term shelter, food, transportation and medical help to recently arrived migrants.
Pima County began a program for asylum seekers in 2019 and closed down operations earlier this year, just before the FEMA program was shuttered by the Trump administration and existing funds were frozen.
The cities argue they have no choice but to file the legal challenge to recoup the money so it doesn’t fall to taxpayers.
