Defending Haitian Temporary Protected Status, Gateway Project Update, Reject Extremist SAVE Act, Blocking Political Funding Cuts, Improving Mental Health Access: NY Attorney General

Defending Haitian Temporary Protected Status, Gateway Project Update, Reject Extremist SAVE Act, Blocking Political Funding Cuts, Improving Mental Health Access: NY Attorney General

Editor’s note: We previously covered the Attorney General’s settlement with a gun manufacturer along with advice about sports betting.  

Attorney General James Takes Action to Defend Temporary Protected Status for Haitian Immigrants

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James co-led a coalition of 17 other attorneys general in defending the legal status of hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants, including many who have lived and worked in the United States for over a decade. The coalition filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in support of a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for attempting to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 350,000 Haitians. Attorney General James and the coalition argue that terminating TPS for Haitians would jeopardize the safety, health, and economy of communities throughout the country and upend the lives of families who have been living and working in the United States for years.

“Every day, Haitian immigrants contribute immensely to New York, from working in our schools and hospitals to running successful small businesses,” said Attorney General James. “This administration’s continued efforts to strip away the legal status of hundreds of thousands of Haitians will put families in danger and tear apart our communities. I will keep fighting to protect immigrants’ rights and ensure Haitians with TPS can continue living, working, and raising their families safely in this country.”

Nearly one in four TPS holders nationwide is Haitian. Attorney General James and the coalition argue that eliminating TPS for Haitians would cause chaos in the lives of hundreds of thousands of families, including the many U.S. citizens living with a Haitian family member with TPS. In 2022, 87,000 U.S. citizen children and 116,000 U.S. citizen adults lived with a Haitian TPS holder. TPS-holder parents would be forced to choose between abandoning their children and returning to Haiti alone, taking their families with them to a dangerous and unfamiliar country, or remaining in the U.S. without legal status and with the constant fear that they could be forcibly separated and deported to Haiti at any time.

As Attorney General James and the coalition explain in the amicus brief, canceling Haitian TPS holders’ legal status would jeopardize their work permits, harming states’ economies and public health. At least 56,000 New Yorkers are Haitians who hold TPS, and terminating their legal status would impact an important source of tax revenue for the state. Haitian TPS holders pay over $140 million annually in New York state and local taxes and contribute over $800 million to the state’s economy. In addition, ending work authorization for hundreds of thousands of Haitians with TPS would deprive many of them and their families of their employer-sponsored health insurance. Without legal status, Haitian immigrants and their loved ones would be less likely to seek treatment at hospitals and clinics, where the Trump administration has increased immigration enforcement.

Attorney General James and the coalition are urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to reject the federal government’s motion to stay the district court’s decision preventing DHS from terminating TPS for more than 350,000 Haitians while the case continues.

Joining Attorney General James in submitting this brief are the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

Attorney General James has consistently taken action to protect immigrants who hold TPS from the Trump administration’s attempts to unlawfully strip them of their legal status. In November 2025, Attorney General James led 15 other attorneys general in filing an amicus brief to defend TPS for Haitian and Venezuelan immigrants. In September 2025, Attorney General James co-led a coalition of 18 other attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia defending TPS for Haitian immigrants. In July 2025, Attorney General James co-led a coalition of 14 other attorneys general in filing an amicus brief defending TPS for immigrants from Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal.

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Attorney General James Provides Update on Gateway Project Funding

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced that as a direct result of her office’s successful lawsuit against the Trump administration, all previously frozen funding for the Gateway Program’s Hudson Tunnel Project has now been released:

“This funding freeze was unlawful from the start. We took swift action in court, and now every dollar that was illegally withheld has been released. This morning, New York and New Jersey received the remaining nearly $130 million owed for the Gateway Project, finally unlocking all the funding that had been frozen.

“These funds should never have been withheld in the first place. I am thrilled that hardworking New Yorkers can now get back on the job and move forward with the most important infrastructure project in the country. We will remain vigilant to ensure this funding continues uninterrupted, so that workers and commuters are never again left in limbo by the president’s targeted and unlawful whims.  

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“My office will keep fighting in court to save Gateway permanently, on behalf of the millions of workers and riders who depend on it.”

Earlier this month, Attorney General James and New Jersey Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport sued the Trump administration to stop its unlawful, months-long freeze of Hudson Tunnel funding, which threatened to force an immediate construction shutdown. On February 6, Attorney General James won a temporary restraining order requiring the federal government to release more than $200 million in overdue funds, which took effect on February 12.

In compliance with the court’s order, the administration released $30 million on February 13, followed by an additional $77 million earlier this week. This morning, the administration delivered the remaining funds, ensuring that construction on the Hudson Tunnel can resume.

Attorney General James Leads Multistate Coalition Urging Senate to Reject Extremist SAVE America Act

Legislation Would Unlawfully Nationalize Elections, Undermine States’ Authority, and Disenfranchise Millions of Eligible Voters

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today led a coalition of 11 other attorneys general in urging the U.S. Senate to reject the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, warning that the legislation would unlawfully nationalize election administration, impose sweeping new barriers to voter registration, and disenfranchise millions of eligible Americans. If enacted, the SAVE America Act would require Americans to present documentary proof of citizenship in person to register or update their voter information, effectively eliminating online, mail-in, and automatic voter registration nationwide. In today’s letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Attorney General James and the coalition argue that the legislation is an unprecedented power grab that would strip states of their long-recognized authority over elections and dismantle modern voter registration systems that voters and election officials across the country rely on.

“The right to vote in free and fair elections has long been a critical part of our democracy,” said Attorney General James. “The SAVE America Act is an unconstitutional power grab that would dismantle modern voter registration systems and block millions of eligible Americans from the ballot box. Congress cannot invent a problem to justify stripping states of their authority and disenfranchising lawful voters.”

Attorney General James and the coalition warn that the SAVE America Act would eliminate online voter registration processes used by most states, as well as mail-in registration relied upon by service members and overseas voters. The legislation would also cripple automatic voter registration systems that help keep voter rolls accurate and secure. As a result, the attorneys general argue, the SAVE America Act would disproportionately harm working-class Americans, rural voters, young people, and people whose legal names no longer match their birth certificates. An estimated 21 million voting-age citizens lack ready access to a passport, birth certificate, or naturalization record, and nearly 80 percent of married women would not have documentation that reflects their current legal name.

The attorneys general emphasize that citizenship is already required to vote in federal elections and that states and the federal government already use robust systems to verify voter eligibility. They note that noncitizen voting is exceedingly rare and has never been shown to impact federal election outcomes, while documentary proof-of-citizenship requirements have repeatedly been shown to disenfranchise tens of thousands of eligible voters.

Attorney General James and the coalition urge the Senate to reject the SAVE America Act and oppose any effort to federalize election administration, calling on lawmakers to respect state sovereignty and protect Americans’ fundamental right to vote.

Joining Attorney General James in this letter are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington.

Attorney General James Sues to Block Politically-Motivated Energy Funding Cuts

Trump Administration Targeted Blue States During Shutdown, Unlawfully Terminating $8 Billion in Critical Energy Grants

AG James Seeks to Restore Funding to Reduce New Yorkers’ Utility Bills, Create Jobs, and Alleviate Strain on Overburdened Energy Grid

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today joined a coalition of 12 other attorneys general in suing the Trump administration for unlawfully terminating billions of dollars in congressionally approved federal funding for energy and infrastructure projects across the country. In October 2025, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought tweeted that the administration was canceling “nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda.” Within days, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) eliminated hundreds of federal awards created and funded by Congress under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act. Attorney General James and the coalition argue that the administration cannot simply eliminate programs it dislikes by freezing already obligated funds and issuing sweeping, arbitrary grant terminations. They are asking the court to reverse the cuts and release the funding that states are relying on to meet rising energy needs nationwide.

“Americans from coast to coast are feeling the impacts of rising utility bills and strained energy grids,” said Attorney General James. “Instead of lowering costs and strengthening our infrastructure, this administration is actively sabotaging investments in our communities. As much as this administration may want to punish states it disagrees with, Congress holds the power of the purse. New Yorkers and all Americans deserve relief from crushing costs and confidence that their jobs will not be eliminated on a political whim.”

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and Inflation Reduction Act, enacted in 2021 and 2022, respectively, included billions of dollars in funding for clean energy initiatives. Upon entering office, the Trump administration immediately began taking steps to eliminate this funding, including by creating a “kill list” of DOE grant programs it wanted to terminate. On September 30, as a federal government shutdown loomed, the president told reporters he could “do things during the shutdown that are irreversible” to strike back at Democrats, including “cutting programs that they like.” By October 3, three days into the federal government shutdown and two days after Director Vought’s tweet, the DOE had officially terminated or abandoned more than 300 awards totaling more than $7.5 billion, all in states with Democratic leadership.

The terminated grants were designed to strengthen energy infrastructure and lower consumers’ energy costs by modernizing the electric grid and improving building energy efficiency. The projects were set to create and support good-paying jobs and reduce pollution by advancing clean energy research and reducing harmful emissions. By abruptly terminating or abandoning these grants, the administration has now halted construction and research midstream, forced layoffs, and left states unable to move forward with critical infrastructure projects. In New York, DOE terminated multiple projects focused on energy efficiency, impacting efforts to improve the reliability of New York’s energy grid.

Attorney General James and the coalition allege that the White House leveraged the shutdown to punish states and make the cuts more difficult to reverse. They argue that DOE relied on a vague and opaque internal policy to justify terminating awards, and in some cases, the federal government simply stopped communicating with awardees altogether, leaving projects frozen and states unable to plan or proceed. The attorneys general argue that the administration’s actions, therefore, violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the U.S. Constitution’s separation of powers.

Attorney General James and the coalition are asking the court to halt the unlawful terminations and restore access to the funding Congress lawfully appropriated.

Joining Attorney General James in this lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Attorney General James Secures Sweeping Reforms Improving Access to Mental Health Care for EmblemHealth Members

OAG Investigation Found Widespread “Ghost Networks” That Prevented New Yorkers from Accessing Mental Health Treatment

EmblemHealth Will Pay $2.5 Million Plus Restitution to Consumers, Expand Mental Health Network, and Submit to Independent Monitoring

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today secured more than $2.5 million from health insurer EmblemHealth (Emblem) after an Office of the Attorney General (OAG) investigation revealed the company repeatedly failed to ensure New Yorkers could access mental health care services. The investigation found that Emblem maintained inaccurate provider directories, overstated the availability of in-network mental health and substance use disorder providers, and failed to comply with state and federal behavioral health parity laws, leaving many New Yorkers unable to find timely, affordable care when they needed it most. Under today’s settlement, Emblem will pay $2.5 million in penalties and fees, provide restitution to members who were forced to pay out of pocket for mental health care, and implement sweeping reforms to improve access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment.

“As millions of New Yorkers struggle with anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders, ensuring access to quality, affordable mental health care is more essential than ever,” said Attorney General James. “Health insurers cannot mislead consumers with inaccurate provider directories while families are left without care. We are requiring Emblem to make meaningful changes so that New Yorkers can actually access the behavioral health treatment their insurance promises.”

Emblem covers approximately 1.5 million New Yorkers through commercial plans, Medicaid managed care, Child Health Plus, the Essential Plan, and New York City employee health plans. The OAG launched an investigation into Emblem in 2023 and conducted a secret shopper survey of mental health and substance use disorder providers listed in the company’s online directory. The investigation found that Emblem’s directories contained many errors, including listings for providers who were unreachable, no longer practicing, not accepting new patients, or not actually in the plan’s network. As detailed in Attorney General James’ report, Inaccurate and Inadequate: Health Plans’ Mental Health Provider Directories, OAG determined that more than 80 percent of surveyed behavioral health providers Emblem listed as accepting new patients were effectively unavailable – creating “ghost networks” of providers that exist on paper but not in reality. Emblem’s own surveys showed similar results.

As a result of OAG’s investigation, Emblem will pay $2.5 million in penalties, fees, and costs and establish a comprehensive restitution process to repay members who were wrongfully forced to pay out of pocket for mental health care services because they were unable to schedule an appointment with an in-network provider. In addition, Attorney General James is requiring Emblem to overhaul its policies and practices to ensure online provider directories are accurate and up to date. Emblem must:

• Correct listings within two business days of learning that information is incorrect or a provider is no longer accepting new patients;
• Put a link next to each provider listing that allows members and providers to report inaccurate listings directly;
• Require providers to verify directory information every 90 days and remove providers who fail to verify or are no longer available;
• Remove providers who have not submitted claims within the last 90 days from the directory unless they verify their continued participation;
• Implement new systems to track, monitor, and resolve complaints related to directory accuracy and access to care; and
• Conduct regular secret shopper surveys to assess access to care and publicly report the results.

If Emblem provides inaccurate provider directory information that leads a member to receive an unexpected out-of-network bill, the company must ensure the member pays only their usual copay or deductible.

In addition, Attorney General James is requiring Emblem to take steps to ensure members can access mental health and substance use disorder treatment appointments within specified time frames, including 24 hours for urgent care and 10 business days for an initial outpatient appointment. If a member is unable to secure a timely appointment with an in-network provider, Emblem must allow the member to see an out-of-network provider but only pay their in-network copay or deductible. The settlement also requires Emblem to develop and carry out a comprehensive behavioral health provider recruitment and retention plan to expand its network statewide and reduce administrative burdens on providers. An independent monitor will oversee the restitution process and Emblem’s compliance with these reforms.

This action is the latest in Attorney General James’ ongoing effort to protect New Yorkers’ access to mental health care and take on mental health ghost networks. In December 2025, Attorney General James won a lawsuit protecting over $1 billion in mental health grants for students and young people. In August 2025, Attorney General James took action to overhaul MVP Health’s mental health ghost network. In April 2025, Attorney General James secured a landmark settlement with WMCHealth to expand access to inpatient psychiatric care in the Hudson Valley and overhaul how the hospital system treats patients experiencing mental health crises.

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorneys General Michael Reisman and Carol Hunt, with assistance from Assistant Attorney General Gina Bull, under the supervision of Health Care Bureau Chief Darsana Srinivasan. The Health Care Bureau is part of the Division for Social Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.

Banner Image: New York City is standing with the people of Minnesota and all of our immigrant communities. Image Credit – AG James