Coordinated Action

During a federal shutdown, the government attempted to issue only partial SNAP benefits, despite knowing that full payments were required. This created immediate risk for individuals and families who rely on SNAP for food assistance. What LCRI did Through the Nonprofit Legal Protection Project, LCRI supported legal action challenging the government’s handling of SNAP benefits. Working with partners including Democracy Forward, the case sought to compel the government to release full benefits and maintain existing waivers. Outcome The court issued an order requiring the government to distribute full SNAP benefits and prevent early termination of work requirement waivers. This ensured continued access to food assistance for millions of people nationwide.

New federal restrictions threatened funding for domestic violence and sexual assault programs across multiple states. These restrictions placed critical services, including housing and legal support, at risk. What LCRI did LCRI supported litigation challenging these restrictions, working with national partners and coalitions representing service providers across the country. The case focused on preventing unlawful limitations on federal grant programs. Outcome The court blocked enforcement of the new restrictions, allowing organizations to continue accessing funding and delivering services to survivors.

Changes to federal housing programs threatened funding tied to the Continuum of Care system, which supports individuals experiencing homelessness. What LCRI did LCRI supported legal action challenging these changes, working with national and local partners to prevent disruption to housing programs and maintain access to funding. Outcome The court issued a preliminary injunction blocking the changes and requiring the government to process applications under the existing framework. This protected housing for more than 170,000 people nationwide.

Federal agencies introduced new conditions on major grant programs that would have limited access to funding for nonprofit organizations serving vulnerable populations. What LCRI did LCRI supported a nationwide legal challenge to these restrictions, working with partners to address changes across multiple federal funding streams. Outcome The court blocked the restrictions, preserving access to billions of dollars in federal funding for nonprofit organizations.

A series of immigration policies that halted asylum processing, frozen immigration benefits, and targeted immigrants based on nationality. The policies left millions of immigrants in legal uncertainty by indefinitely suspending asylum adjudications, freezing immigration applications for people from countries subject to a travel ban, and directing immigration officers to treat nationality as a significant negative factor in their decisions. What LCRI did On behalf of immigrant-serving organizations and national labor unions, LCRI and co-counsel challenged USCIS policies that halted asylum adjudications, froze benefit applications for people from 39 countries, and directed officials to weigh national origin against applicants. Outcome In June 2026, the court vacated the policies, restoring fair adjudication of work permits, green cards, asylum, and citizenship for thousands of families nationwide.

The Untied States Department of Justice sought years of medical records of transgender patients at Rhode Island Hospital, records that contain the most intimate details imaginable: children’s mental health struggles, experiences with bullying or discrimination, family dynamics, sexual development, gender identity, trauma histories, suicidal ideation, and deeply personal conversations with physicians and therapists. What LCRI did LCRI represented the state’s Office of the Child Advocate and brought an emergency motion to quash to the subpoena, two days after DOJ filed a request to enforce the subpoena for these records in Texas, not Rhode Island, and the judge in Texas initially granted the government’s request the same day and without opportunity for response. Outcome In May 2026, the court quashed the subpoena on multiple independent grounds — a national landmark against the weaponization of federal investigative power — and LCRI now leads the appellate defense of that victory.

LCRI is among the country’s most active litigators against the weaponization of federal grants. In RI AFL-CIO v. EPA, LCRI is challenging EPA’s termination of the $7 billion Solar for All program serving more than 900,000 low-income households. In NEA v. U.S. Department of Education LCRI is challenging the ideologically driven cancellation of grants that train teachers of English-language learners in a dozen states.

As immigration arrests and detentions have surged, LCRI has represented dozens of individuals detained at Rhode Island’s federal detention facility in habeas petitions challenging unlawful confinement. LCRI attorneys also serve as mentors for the Habeas Project of New England, multiplying LCRI’s expertise into capacity across the regional bar.