Navigating Changes to Nondiscrimination and Immigration Enforcement Requirements In Revised FAA Grant Agreement Template and Airport Sponsor Grant Assurances

FAA’s recent revisions to the Airport Sponsor Grant Assurances and grant agreement template form have raised questions from recipients of FAA grant funding regarding the legal implications of entering into new FAA grant agreements and potential retroactivity of the new requirements.  Some of the recent changes appear to be designed to implement provisions of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, and can be understood by reference to the Act.  However, several changes to the requirements regarding immigration laws and nondiscrimination laws are confusingly worded and may conflict with local, state, and federal laws and policies, in particular municipal and state DEI and sanctuary laws and policies.

This program, Presented by Slone Isselhard and Kirsten Crawford of Kaplan Kirsch LLP, will provide an overview of the changes to immigration and DEI laws and policies in the new FAA grant agreement template and Grant Assurances and the legal implications of such changes, particularly in light of the April 24, 2025 letter to DOT grant recipients issued by Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy.  The discussion will include how “illegal DEI” and “cooperation” with ICE may be interpreted, the current state of the law on DEI and sanctuary laws and policies, and how grant recipients have challenged these and similar grant conditions during the Trump administration’s current and preceding term for violation of the U.S. Constitution and Administrative Procedures Act.

Speaker: Kirsten Crawford & Slone Isselhard