Neronha Joins 20 Dem AGs in Suing Trump Administration’s “Disregarding Law” for Victims of Crime

Neronha Joins 20 Dem AGs in Suing Trump Administration’s “Disregarding Law” for Victims of Crime

Attorney General Peter Neronha joined twenty Democratic attorneys general in filing a lawsuit in Rhode Island on Monday against the Trump Administration over "the imposition of illegal conditions on more than $1 billion in Congressionally-authorized funds for Victims of Crime Act grant recipients."

"The Trump Administration, disregarding the law and the 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," according to their statement. 

Neronha, along with New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, co-led the coalition. They are joined in filing the lawsuit by the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

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About Victims of Crime Act 

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. Supported programs include 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 nine 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," said the AGs. 

They continued: 

However, the Trump Administration, through the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ), 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. To receive these funds, states must assist the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with civil immigration enforcement efforts – a federal government responsibility. 

This directive conflicts with core principles of American governance – the separation of powers and federalism. Congress did not authorize USDOJ to impose conditions on these grant programs that coerce states to devote their resources to enacting the Administration’s immigration agenda. As such, Attorney General Neronha and the coalition are requesting that the Court permanently enjoin the Trump Administration from implementing or enforcing these illegal conditions.