By Nate Raymond
(Reuters) -A gaggle of Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit on Monday searching for to forestall the Trump administration from forcing them to cooperate with immigration enforcement actions so as to obtain grant funding to assist crime victims.
The lawsuit filed in federal court docket in Rhode Island is the most recent case to problem efforts by Republican President Donald Trump’s administration to impose immigration-related situations on states’ means to obtain federal funding.
Monday’s lawsuit by state attorneys normal in 20 states and the District of Columbia takes goal at a situation the U.S. Division of Justice just lately imposed on the power of states to obtain grants pursuant to the Victims of Crime Act, which Congress enacted in 1984 to bolster assist for crime victims.
The Justice Division didn’t reply to a request for remark.
The division administers applications funded by fines and penalties assessed in federal prison instances that enable states to obtain grant funding to offer providers for victims together with medical care, counseling, shelter and compensation for misplaced wages.
Attorneys normal from states together with California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island say these funds assist about 10 million individuals yearly. In 2025, practically $1.4 billion in such funding is accessible, the lawsuit mentioned.
However below a brand new Trump administration coverage, states can lose out on such funding if they do not want to offer U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement entry to amenities or honor all civil immigration enforcement requests, the lawsuit mentioned.
The situations had been imposed consistent with a coverage Lawyer Common Pam Bondi unveiled in February requiring the Justice Division to make sure that federal funds don’t movement to so-called “sanctuary jurisdictions” that don’t cooperate with ICE.
The states’ lawsuit argues that such situations are illegal and violate the U.S. Structure by undermining Congress’ energy over appropriations. They’re asking a decide to dam the Justice Division from implementing the situations.
Judges in Rhode Island have issued a collection of rulings stopping the administration from imposing situations on grant funding that align with Trump’s broader agenda.
Most just lately, a decide within the state this month barred the Justice Division from implementing new restrictions on grant funding used to assist victims of home violence and sexual assault.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Modifying by Alexia Garamfalvi and Mark Porter)
