AG Letitia James sues U.S. Department of Justice over funds for survivors of violent crimes
LInking federal funding to support crime victims to state cooperation with federal immigration enforcement is "illegal" and could hurt crime victims, New York Attorney General Letitia James said Monday. Credit: Newsday / John Paraskevas
The federal government’s efforts to withhold federal funding to support crime victims from states that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement is "illegal" and could hurt scores of crime victims’ ability to access much needed services, New York Attorney General Letitia James said Monday when announcing a new lawsuit filed by New York and 20 other states against the U.S. Department of Justice.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, seeks to stop the Justice Department from requiring states to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to continue to receive the funding, a new Trump administration initiative.
New York State is considered one of several so-called "sanctuary" jurisdictions because of its policies limiting cooperation with ICE, including Executive Order 170, which banned state employees from disclosing information to federal immigration authorities. Then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed it into law in 2017.
The lawsuit asks the court to vacate and set aside the immigration enforcement conditions placed on the funding for victims of violent crime, to continue to monitor the Justice Department for compliance and for attorney fees.
New York State could lose more than $212 million in federal funding for crime victims that pays for rape kits, counseling and funeral and burial costs, the suit said.
"The federal government is attempting to use crime victim funds as a bargaining chip to force states into doing its bidding on immigration enforcement," James said in a statement. "These grants were created to help survivors heal and recover, and we will fight to ensure they continue to serve that purpose. New Yorkers deserve a justice system that puts their safety first. We will not be bullied into abandoning any of our residents."
A Justice Department spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
In a news release announcing the lawsuit, James said the Department of Justice is "forcing states to choose between abandoning public safety policies that protect all New Yorkers — and forfeiting the lifesaving funding that millions of victims rely on," in reference to $1.4 billion in Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funds that are dispersed annually to the states.
The lawsuit called the Justice Department's recent attempt to link states’ cooperation with ICE to the funding a "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."
A spokesman for the Nassau County district attorney declined to comment on how its office's work with victims might be impacted. A spokeswoman for the Suffolk DA did not immediately provide comment.
According to the lawsuit, the Justice Department's Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) issued a notice on July 21 "specifying new immigration-related conditions on issuance of funding for FY 2025" for various crime victim grants.
The lawsuit argues the Justice Department's "imposition" of immigration enforcement conditions on the states "causes significant harm" to the states "by subjecting them to an impossible dilemma: either forgo control over use of their own law enforcement resources and allow the federal government to invade their sovereign right to determine how best to exercise state police power, or forgo hundreds of millions in critical federal funds that are necessary to sustain ongoing state victim services programs."
The funding is administered to the states through the OVC, an agency in the Justice Department, and provides services such as emergency shelter, advocacy services for victims and witnesses and compensation for lost wages.
More than 8.5 million crime victims annually received services with VOCA funds between 2021 and 2024, the suit said.
The suit noted that final applications for victim assistance formula grants for fiscal year 2025 are due on Wednesday and "plaintiff states intend to apply, and some have already submitted applications, for these grant funds. Plaintiff States do not agree to comply with the Immigration Enforcement Conditions."
Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.
'Really, really tough stuff to talk about' In Dec. 2024, an East Patchogue teen went missing for 25 days. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa spoke with reporter Shari Einhorn about the girl, her life, the search and some of Long Island's dark secrets the investigation exposed.
'Really, really tough stuff to talk about' In Dec. 2024, an East Patchogue teen went missing for 25 days. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa spoke with reporter Shari Einhorn about the girl, her life, the search and some of Long Island's dark secrets the investigation exposed.
