Attorney General Ford Secures Court Victory Blocking Trump Administration’s Unlawful Restrictions on Public Safety Funding

Carson City, NV - Today, Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced that he and a multistate coalition of 23 states secured an important legal victory stopping the federal government's imposition of illegal immigration-enforcement conditions on congressionally-authorized public safety grants, including grants intended to keep law enforcement officers safe and fight crime.

District of Rhode Island Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. declared the Trump administration's actions unlawful and permanently enjoined any implementation or enforcement of these illegal conditions.

"Public safety funding is meant to protect communities, not to be used as a political bargaining chip," said Attorney General Ford. "The Trump administration unlawfully tried to force states to comply with its immigration enforcement demands by threatening critical law enforcement funding. This ruling upholds the rule of law and protects resources that help keep Nevadans safe."

Last year, the Trump administration, disregarding the clear letter of the law and intent of Congress, declared that states would be unable to access Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funds 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.

Civil immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility and not a state government responsibility. The Trump administration's unlawful attempts to coerce states into doing their bidding conflict with core principles of American governance - the separation of powers and federalism. The administration's actions violated laws passed by Congress as well as the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Attorney General Ford was joined in this lawsuit by the co-lead attorneys general of California, Delaware, New Jersey, Illinois and Rhode Island, as well as the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, as well as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

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