Attorney General Ford Files Lawsuit Against Trump Administration’s Imposition of Illegal Conditions on Victims of Crime Act Grants

Carson City, NV — Today, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced he is suing the Trump administration over the illegal imposition of conditions on congressionally authorized Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grants. The Trump administration, disregarding the clear letter of the law and intent of Congress, has declared that states will be unable to access these funds — used to support victims and survivors of crimes — unless they agree to support the Trump Administration’s extreme immigration enforcement efforts. AG Ford joined 21 other attorneys general in filing the lawsuit.

“President Trump is harming victims and survivors of crime in Nevada,” said AG Ford. "It is despicable that President Trump is using vital funding to play political games. He is putting victims and survivors of crime in even more precarious situations when what they deserve is help with regaining a sense of normalcy. They should not be used as pawns to score political points.”

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, such as victim and witness advocacy services; emergency shelter; medical, funeral and burial expenses; crime scene cleanup; and sexual assault forensic exams.

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 U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), has declared that states, along with the victims and survivors they serve, will 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 must assist the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with civil immigration enforcement efforts — a federal, not state government responsibility.

Congress did not authorize the DOJ to impose conditions on these grant programs that coerce states to devote their resources to enacting the administration’s immigration agenda. As such, AG Ford and the coalition are requesting that the court permanently enjoin the Trump administration from implementing or enforcing these illegal conditions.

In filing the lawsuit, AG Ford joins the attorneys general of California, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Rhode Island, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

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