Maine is joining a multistate lawsuit against the Trump administration challenging recently proposed limits on support for long-term housing for people at risk of becoming homeless.

The suit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island by attorneys general and governors from 20 states and Washington, D.C. It accuses the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development of illegally upending support services for tens of thousands of Americans with changes that will limit access to long-term housing.

The suit comes in response to plans the department announced this month to cut funding for long-term housing assistance in its Continuum of Care grant program and redirect resources to transitional housing and short-term supports like emergency shelters.

“Winter is coming here in Maine and now the administration is redirecting congressionally appropriated funds that keep over 1,200 Mainers housed,” Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey said in a written statement. “While there is little doubt the courts will agree that the administration has once again overstepped, the chaos and uncertainty these decisions create are harmful and unnecessary.”

The complaint alleges HUD violated its own regulations by not engaging in rulemaking before issuing the changes and violated the law by not receiving congressional authorization for the new conditions, many of which the states say are contrary to congressionally passed statutes and HUD regulations.

The states also argued that HUD’s actions are arbitrary and capricious, and said the agency hasn’t made an effort to explain why they are abandoning their own policies or failing to consider the consequences for people who as a result will be at risk for eviction.

HUD has said previously that the changes restore accountability to homelessness programs.

“Our philosophy for addressing the homelessness crisis will now define success not by dollars spent or housing units filled, but by how many people achieve long-term self-sufficiency and recovery,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said in a written statement earlier this month.

A media contact for HUD did not immediately respond to an email Tuesday afternoon seeking comment on the suit.

The Maine attorney general’s office said HUD previously has directed about 90% of Continuum of Care funding to support permanent housing, but the agency’s new rules would cut that by two-thirds for grants starting in 2026.

Similarly, HUD has long allowed grantees to protect around 90% of funding year to year — essentially guaranteeing renewal of projects to ensure that individuals and families living in those projects maintain stable housing — but has reduced that number to 30%, the office said.

Continuum of Care programs support more than 1,800 people across Maine, and state officials have said the federal government’s proposed changes jeopardize housing for more than 1,200. Most are served through the Permanent Supportive Housing Program run by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

The program provides rental subsidies to people with disabilities and their families, while also connecting them to services to keep them successfully housed, such as treatment for substance use and mental health disorders.

“As I have previously warned, this callous change by the Trump Administration — as we begin the holiday season — would jeopardize stable housing for 1,200 Maine people and drive up costs for Maine municipalities,” Gov. Janet Mills said in a written statement. “The Trump Administration should withdraw this unnecessary directive.”

A Maine family was detained by federal immigration agents at the Canadian border last week, leaving empty seats at two Portland high schools.

Two Portland Public School high schoolers, who attend Casco Bay and Deering high schools, were detained with their family in Vermont and transferred to Texas, Superintendent Ryan Scallon told families Friday.

“To have students in class one week and then suddenly gone the next is traumatic. And to know that two young people are in a detention center when they could be in school is deeply upsetting,” the district said in a statement. “The Portland Public Schools remains committed to serving all students, irrespective of immigration status, and we will not change.”

The Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection did not return a request for comment, but the Portland Press Herald reported that CBP confirmed the family’s detention.

The “family unit,” including four family members, was returned by Canada Border Services Agency to the port of entry in New York on Nov. 12 after being denied asylum, the spokesperson said, per the Herald.

The four family members entered the U.S. near San Luis, Arizona in 2022, CBP said.

A GoFundMe is raising money to hire a lawyer and pay bond for Carine Balenda Mbizi, Olivia Mabiala Andre, Joel Mabiala Andre, and Estefania Mabiala André. Mbizi is the mother of 19-year-old Olivia, 16-year-old Joel, and 14-year-old Estefania, The Boston Globe reported.

Mbizi, of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is in the South Texas Family Residential Center, while Olivia is also in custody, according to ICE’s inmate tracker. The detention facility was not listed. 

Joel and Estefania did not appear in the tracker, which does not show information about juveniles. Kennedy Park Pickup Soccer, where Joel plays soccer in Portland, asked their community to call local representatives to prevent the family’s deportation.

“Joel is a part of our family, an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us,” the soccer community wrote on social media. “We must do everything in our power to fight for Joel.”

Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on education, politics, crime, and more.