ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL LEADS COALITION TO PROTECT LAW ENFORCEMENT FUNDING

ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL LEADS COALITION TO PROTECT LAW ENFORCEMENT FUNDING

August 21, 2026

Chicago - Attorney General Kwame Raoul co-led a multistate coalition in filing an updated lawsuit over the Trump administration's illegal attempt to hold critical public safety funding hostage unless states comply with its immigration enforcement priorities. These public safety grants, authorized by Congress to help fight crime, include grants intended to keep law enforcement officers safe.

"By targeting these funds, the Trump administration is harming state and local law enforcement and putting public safety at risk," Raoul said. "This funding has no relationship to civil immigration enforcement, and I will continue to lead the effort, along with other attorneys general, to fight back against these illegal policies."

For decades, state and local law enforcement agencies have relied on a wide range of federal grants to support and sustain critical law enforcement operations and victim services. These statutory funding streams have long aided states in fulfilling their fundamental duty to protect the public. Last year, the Trump administration, in violation of the law, declared that states would be unable to access Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funds, which help provide lifesaving services to crime victims, unless they agreed to the administration's extreme immigration demands. The multistate coalition succeeded in getting the federal government to remove those conditions on over $1.3 billion of VOCA funds.

However, this year, the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) has applied these illegal conditions to new grants, including funds dedicated to law enforcement and juvenile justice.

Among the affected programs is the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Formula Grants, known as the Byrne JAG Program. For decades, regardless of which political party held power, the Byrne JAG Program has been the leading federal source of criminal justice funding to state and local governments. Congress directed USDOJ to distribute funds based on a state's population and violent crime rate, not the immigration priorities of the executive branch. The program provides crucial support for law enforcement, including funding for equipment and training. Over the last four fiscal years, Illinois has received a total of more than $25 million in law enforcement funds through this federal program.

Civil immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility and not a state government responsibility. The amended complaint alleges that the administration's actions violate the Administrative Procedures Act and the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution in multiple ways. Attorney General Raoul and the coalition are asking the court to declare the Trump administration's actions unlawful and permanently stop the implementation or enforcement of these illegal conditions.

Raoul is co-leading the lawsuit with California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha. They are joined by the Attorneys General of Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin, as well as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.