Then-candidate Donald Trump arrives at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, Thursday, May 9, 2024. (Angela Weiss/Pool Photo via AP).
The Trump administration is accused of unlawfully pressuring states to endorse the president’s immigration policies by using a “brazen” and “unlawful” tactic. This involves the government trying to “manipulate” essential funding meant for crime victims and using it as leverage, according to several state attorneys general.
On Monday, a group of 20 states along with Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit in federal court to prevent the Department of Justice from withholding funds from crime victims in states that do not cooperate with civil immigration enforcement. They argue that immediate action is necessary as the funding withdrawal would cause “significant, imminent, and irreparable harm.” The coalition comprises California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
“Over 40 years ago, Congress established the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) to tackle the criminal justice system’s oversight of crime victims,” the complaint states. “The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), a branch within the U.S. Department of Justice that oversees VOCA grants, now claims that states cannot access VOCA funds unless they comply with the executive branch’s immigration enforcement priorities. This new policy would place unprecedented conditions on VOCA funds, requiring states to aid the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in unrelated immigration enforcement tasks.”
At its inception, VOCA introduced a variety of grant programs to help states offer “critical” resources and services to crime victims and survivors in their recovery and return to “normalcy.” This included services like victim and witness advocacy, emergency shelters, sexual assault forensic examinations, medical, funeral, and burial expenses, compensation for lost wages, and “much more,” according to the states.
“Defendants’ audacious attempt to manipulate critical funding for crime victims to coerce states into supporting the administration’s immigration objectives directly challenges two foundational principles of American governance: separation of powers and federalism,” the complaint alleges. “The imposition of new conditions by defendants forces the plaintiff states to either forgo vital funds to help crime victims or relinquish their sovereign rights in determining the use of state and local resources.”
States assert that millions of people use victim services annually, with over 2.8 million victims being federally assisted in 2024 and over 88,000 claims processed for losses incurred. From 2021 to 2024, more than 8.5 million crime victims reportedly utilized federal VOCA funds, according to the complaint.
The decision to try and scrap the victim assistance came on Donald Trump’s inauguration day earlier this year, with an executive order directing federal officials to “ensure that so-called ‘sanctuary’ jurisdictions … do not receive access to federal funds” and to take “any other lawful actions, criminal or civil” that they deem warranted.
“The federal government is attempting to use crime victim funds as a bargaining chip to force states into doing its bidding on immigration enforcement,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James in a statement Monday announcing the lawsuit. “These grants were created to help survivors heal and recover, and we will fight to ensure they continue to serve that purpose.”
According to the complaint, it is a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act to scrap the victim funding based on immigration enforcement conditions set forth by the president, which is “contrary to the Constitution and federal laws.” The DOJ did not respond to requests for comment by Law&Crime on the allegations.
“Playing politics with the lives of people who have suffered so greatly is reckless, it is cruel, and in this case – it is illegal,” said New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin in a statement. “We are filing suit today to stand up for our residents, and for the law, which prevents these unlawful conditions on Congressionally-authorized funding. We look forward to blocking these conditions and preventing further harms to crime victims.”
