Attorney General Alcinia F. Whiters of Nevada joined 22 other state attorneys general and Pennsylvania in filing an updated lawsuit challenging conditions the Trump administration has imposed on federal public safety grants, including funding aimed at supporting law enforcement and crime prevention.
The federal government declared that states would be unable to access Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funds unless they complied with its immigration enforcement demands, according to the lawsuit. The multistate coalition previously succeeded in securing the removal of those conditions from over $1.3 billion in VOCA funds, but the Department of Justice has since applied the restrictions to new grants, including the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Formula Grants program.
"These grants provide critical resources to help Nevada law enforcement fight crime and keep our communities safe," Whiters said. "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."
The Byrne JAG Program has served for decades as the leading federal source of criminal justice funding to state and local governments regardless of which political party held power in Washington. Civil immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility and not a state obligation, the attorneys general contend in the filing.
The coalition seeks a court declaration that the Trump administration's actions are unlawful and a permanent injunction against implementation or enforcement of the immigration conditions. The lawsuit is 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.