Trump admin illegally using crime victim funds as a ‘bargaining chip’ to punish states that don’t support its immigration policies, new lawsuit says

The Trump administration is trying to illegally “strong-arm” states into supporting the president’s immigration policies — deploying a “brazen” and “unlawful” strategy, in which the government tries to “manipulate” critical funding for crime victims and use it as a “bargaining chip,” according to local attorneys general.

A coalition of 20 states and Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit on Monday in federal court to block the Department of Justice from withholding funds from crime victims in states that refuse to cooperate with civil immigration enforcement, saying action is “urgently needed” as the withholding of funding would cause “significant, imminent, and irreparable harm,” according to the group’s complaint. The states include 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.

“More than 40 years ago, Congress enacted the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) to address the criminal justice system’s neglect of crime victims,” the complaint explains. “The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), an agency housed within the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) that is charged with administering VOCA grants, has now declared that States will be unable to access VOCA funds unless they accede to the executive branch’s immigration enforcement priorities. This new policy would impose unprecedented conditions on the use of VOCA funds, requiring States to assist the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in unrelated immigration enforcement efforts.”

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During its inception, VOCA created a series of grant programs to enable states to provide “critical” resources and services to victims and survivors of crime as they sought to recover and “restore normalcy.” This included victim and witness advocacy services; emergency shelter; sexual assault forensic exams; medical, funeral and burial expenses; compensation for lost wages; and “much more,” the states say.

“Defendants’ brazen attempt to manipulate critical funding for crime victims to strong-arm states into supporting the administration’s immigration policies runs headlong into two basic principles of American governance: separation of powers and federalism,” the complaint charges. “Defendants’ imposition of new conditions forces plaintiff states either to abandon critical funds to support crime victims or relinquish their sovereign rights to decide how to use state and local resources.”

Millions of people are said to use victim services every year, according to the states, with more than 2.8 million victims federally assisted in 2024 and payment for more than 88,000 claims being recorded for losses suffered. More than 8.5 million crime victims used federal VOCA funds between 2021 and 2024, per 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.

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“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.”

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