Fema grants traditionally help state, local, tribal, and nonprofit organisations to prevent, protect against, prepare for and respond to hate-based crimes or attacks, and include upgrades such as security guards and surveillance cameras.

Organisations are normally subjected to rigorous vetting by Fema, which is overseen by DHS. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are the two agencies behind the decision, according to CNN, with DOGE spearheading the efforts to block funding from dozens of groups.

One source told CNN that it “felt like a manufactured narrative designed to justify excluding Muslim organizations from funding”, and the “apolitical, risk-based grant process suddenly looked politicized in a way we’d never seen before”.