20 states and D.C. sue Trump admin. for tying crime victim grants to immigration

DOJ cutting grants for transgression victims groups

Justice Department cutting assistance backing for transgression victims groups 03:27

Twenty states and the District of Columbia sued the Justice Department connected Monday for adding a caller migration enforcement regularisation to national grants that assistance victims of transgression — arguing it's portion of the Trump administration's crackdown against "sanctuary states." 

The suit focuses connected the Office for Victims of Crime, a 42-year-old part of the Justice Department that hands retired much than $1 cardinal per twelvemonth to each 50 states to compensate transgression victims and money programs similar section situation counseling centers, exigency shelters, home maltreatment hotlines and unfortunate advocacy services.

The Trump-era Justice Department added a caller condition to those grants that denies backing to immoderate programme that "violates (or promotes oregon facilitates the usurpation of) national migration law." That includes failing to "give entree to [Department of Homeland Security] agents, oregon grant DHS requests."

But the states that joined Monday's suit reason that the regularisation is illegal, since the Reagan-era instrumentality that acceptable up the national government's transgression unfortunate assistance programs doesn't accidental thing astir migration enforcement. 

"The challenged conditions would unit these States into an untenable position: either forfeit entree to captious resources for susceptible transgression victims and their families, oregon judge unlawful conditions, allowing the national authorities to conscript authorities and section officials to enforce national migration law," the states and D.C. reason successful the lawsuit, which was filed successful national tribunal successful Rhode Island.

Mostly Democratic states joined the suit, including California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota and Colorado. Collectively, they've received much than $500 cardinal a twelvemonth successful transgression unfortunate grants since 2021, according to the lawsuit.

The states asked a national justice to artifact the caller rules and state them illegal. They said they request "urgent relief" since applications for astir of the grants are owed Wednesday.

The Justice Department declined to remark connected the lawsuit.

As President Trump seeks to dramatically ramp up arrests of suspected undocumented immigrants, his medication has taken purpose astatine alleged sanctuary cities and states, which mostly bounds section constabulary from cooperating with national migration agents. 

Within hours of his swearing-in connected Jan. 20, the president signed an enforcement bid directing officials to guarantee that sanctuary jurisdictions "do not person entree to Federal funds." Weeks later, Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered the Justice Department to place and intermission grants to groups that "support oregon supply services to removable oregon amerciable aliens."

The medication argues that sanctuary cities and states marque it harder to enforce migration laws, particularly against criminals who extremity up successful authorities oregon section custody. 

Supporters of sanctuary laws, however, reason that forcing section instrumentality enforcement officers to enactment with migration agents makes migrants little apt to cooperate with the police. Monday's suit said the conditions connected transgression unfortunate grants hazard "destroying spot betwixt instrumentality enforcement and migrant communities that is captious to preventing and responding to crime."

"The national authorities is attempting to usage transgression unfortunate funds arsenic a bargaining spot to unit states into doing its bidding connected migration enforcement," New York Attorney General Letitia James said successful a statement.

Earlier this year, the Justice Department chopped disconnected hundreds of national assistance programs, including wealth for nonprofits that assistance victims of hatred crimes, enactment trafficking and unit against children, according to a database obtained by CBS News. The heads of immoderate nonprofits warned they would request to laic disconnected unit oregon shutter transgression unfortunate hotlines. 

At the time, a Justice Department spokesperson told CBS News: "We are assured that these cuts are accordant with the administration's priorities portion astatine the aforesaid clip protecting services that tangibly interaction victims."

A radical of anti-domestic-violence nonprofits besides sued the Justice Department earlier this twelvemonth for banning assistance backing nether the Violence Against Women Act to groups that beforehand "gender ideology" oregon diversity, equity and inclusion programs. A justice paused that rule.