BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has joined a group of Democrats suing the Trump administration over its move to restrict federal funding for the victims of crimes unless states cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, alleges the Department of Justice doesn’t have the authority to withhold more than $1 billion in congressionally approved Victims of Crime Act grants, which provide support for crime victims to cover costs like medical bills, funeral costs and lost wages.
The attorneys general said the new restrictions would “allow the federal government to conscript state and local officials to enforce federal immigration law” and “destroy trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities that is critical to preventing and responding to crime.”
“The challenged conditions would force these states into an untenable position: either forfeit access to critical resources for vulnerable crime victims and their families, or accept unlawful conditions” the AGs wrote in the 50-page complaint. “In enacting these grant programs, Congress’s focus was crystal clear: the funds must be used to help victims.”
Campbell said the Trump administration is using the victims of gun violence, domestic violence, sexual assault survivors and others as political pawns.
“Victims and survivors of crime deserve support as they navigate their trauma and work to get back on their feet,” the Democrat said in a statement. “The Trump Administration’s attempt to make this support conditional is as cruel as it is illegal. We’ll continue to hold the federal government accountable for actions that violate the law and harm vulnerable residents.”
In the previous fiscal year, Massachusetts distributed more than $4.2 million in compensation payments to 804 claimants and nearly $17.6 million in grant awards to nearly 95 victim services organizations that provided assistance to more than 32,000 victims of crime, according to state and federal data.
The Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance, which distributes federal funds to organizations that work with victims of homicide, rape, domestic violence, elder abuse and other crimes, said the new conditions on federal grant funds could force the groups “to support the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration enforcement efforts.”
“Supporting all survivors is at the very core of MOVA’s mission,” Liam Lowney, the group’s executive director, wrote in an advisory Monday to grant recipients. “We are deeply concerned about the risks that may result for immigrant victims of crime and victim services providers by agreeing to such broad immigration enforcement conditions.
Lowney praised the AG’s office for “pursuing relief for MOVA to ensure VOCA funding remains accessible across all survivor communities” and said he doesn’t expect any immediate impact from the changes with the litigation getting underway.
The White House said the new restrictions on funding are in line with Attorney General Pam Bondi’s policy that “sanctuary” jurisdictions should not receive federal funds if they don’t cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. The DOJ recently declared Boston a sanctuary city.
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.