Attorney General Clark Announces Key Victory in Multi-State Lawsuit Against Trump Administration's Imposition of Illegal Immigration Enforcement Conditions on Victims of Crime[...]

After Lawsuit Brought by Coalition of 20Attorneys General, Trump Administration Backs Down on Blocking Access to Over $1.3 Billion for Victims and Survivors of Crimes

After joining a multi-state lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Attorney General Charity Clark today announced that following the filing of the lawsuit, the DOJ has now dropped its plan to impose illegal conditions on nearly $1.4 billion in Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grants. Earlier this year, the Trump Administration, disregarding the clear letter of the law and intent of Congress, declared that States would be unable to access VOCA funds - used to support victims and survivors of crimes - unless they accede to the Trump Administration's demands that States assist in federal immigration enforcement.

The Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) was enacted in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan, creating a series of grant programs to enable States to provide critical resources and services to victims and survivors of crime as they try to restore normalcy in their lives: victim and witness advocacy services, emergency shelter, medical, funeral, and burial expenses, crime scene cleanup, sexual assault forensic exams, and much more. These funding streams-totaling more than a billion dollars a year nationwide-have long ensured that States could fulfill their most fundamental duties: to protect public safety and redress harm to their residents. States use these funds to assist nearly 9 million crime victims per year and to provide compensation for more than 200,000 victims' claims per year. Congress has required the distribution of nearly all VOCA funding to States based on fixed statutory formulas and has repeatedly acted to ensure sufficient funding for crime victims, including after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

However, the Trump Administration, through the DOJ, previously declared that States, along with the victims and survivors they serve, would be blocked from these funds unless they comply with the Administration's political agenda - namely its immigration enforcement priorities. In order to receive these funds, States were told that they must devote resources to assisting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with civil immigration enforcement efforts - a federal, not state, government responsibility.

Following the lawsuit brought forward by the coalition, the DOJ abandoned its plan to impose these conditions on $178 million in VOCA Victim Assistance Grants and $1.2 billion in VOCA Victim Compensation grants. These grants will continue to be provided to states with no requirement that States assist DHS in immigration enforcement.

In addition to Vermont, the lawsuit was brought by the Attorneys General of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

CONTACT: Amelia Vath, Senior Advisor to the Attorney General, 802-828-3171