Attorney General Ford Joins Multistate Coalition to Protect Law Enforcement Funding

Carson City, NV - Today Attorney General Aaron D. Ford joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in filing an updated and amended lawsuit over the illegal imposition of immigration-enforcement conditions on Congressionally-authorized public safety grants, including grants intended to keep law enforcement officers safe and fight crime.

"These grants provide critical resources to help Nevada law enforcement fight crime and keep our communities safe," said Attorney General Ford. "The federal government should not be allowed to jeopardize public safety funding to force states to carry out the destructive excesses of its immigration agenda. My office will continue to fight to ensure these funds remain available to protect Nevadans and support the officers who serve our communities."

Last year, the Trump administration, disregarding the clear letter of the law and intent of Congress, declared that states will be unable to access Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funds unless they agree to the Administration's extreme immigration demands. The multistate coalition succeeded in getting the federal government to remove those conditions on over $1.3 billion of VOCA funds. However, this year, the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) has applied these illegal conditions to new grants, including funds dedicated to law enforcement and juvenile justice.

Among the affected programs is the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Formula Grants (known as the Byrne JAG Program). The Byrne JAG Program was named after a rookie New York City Police Department officer who was ambushed in his patrol car while protecting a witness in a drug case in 1988. For decades, regardless of which political party held power, the Byrne JAG Program has been the leading federal source of criminal justice funding to state and local governments.
Civil immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility and not a state government responsibility. The Trump administration's unlawful attempts to coerce states into doing their bidding conflict with core principles of American governance - the separation of powers and federalism. The administration's actions violate the Administrative Procedures Act and the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution in multiple ways.

As such, Attorney General Ford and the coalition are requesting that the court declare the Trump administration's actions unlawful and permanently enjoin any implementation or enforcement of these illegal conditions.

Attorney General Ford joins this lawsuit being co-led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha. It is also joined by the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

FIRST AMENDED AND SUPPLEMENTAL COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

###