Attorney General Bonta Sues Trump Administration Over Illegal New Retroactive Condition on Public Safety and Victim Services Funding

OAKLAND - California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, as part of a multistate coalition, filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Justice's (U.S. DOJ) new condition prohibiting recipients of various public safety and victim services grants from using funding to provide legal services to undocumented immigrants. Many of the organizations that receive these funds provide critical wraparound services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, human trafficking, and elder abuse - services that could be described as "legal" under U.S. DOJ's vague definition - irrespective of an individual's immigration status. This new condition, which also requires state agencies to certify to their subgrantees compliance, puts at risk at least $94 million in current funding to California and potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in future funding. In the lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that this new condition violates the Spending Clause, is arbitrary and capricious, and is contrary to law, and as such, should be declared unlawful and set aside.

"The Trump Administration continues to push forward policies that make our communities less safe," said Attorney General Bonta. "U.S. DOJ's vague new condition would force organizations to upend their services knowing they still could very well fail to meet U.S. DOJ's impossible demands and end up in the Trump Administration's crosshairs. I wish President Trump would stop creating problems where there are none - and focus his energy on policies that actually reduce crime and protect public safety. I'm grateful to the dozens of organizations and program across California that use this funding to provide legal services and support to victims of crime, and in doing so, also help bring the perpetrators of those crimes to justice."

In July 2025, the Office for Victims of Crime, an agency housed within U.S. DOJ and charged with administering Victims of Crimes Act (VOCA) grants, declared that states would be unable to access VOCA funds unless they agree to broadly support and assist the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's federal immigration enforcement activities. These grants are unrelated to federal civil immigration enforcement and are used by states to protect public safety and provide critical resources and services to victims and survivors of crime, including victims of domestic violence. The next month, Attorney General Bonta joined a multistate coalition in challenging the Trump Administration's attempt to unlawfully impose these immigration enforcement requirements.

After the multistate coalition filed that lawsuit, U.S. DOJ announced that it was imposing an "Unallowable Costs" restriction across multiple grants, including VOCA and Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) funding, stating that award funds could not be used to support or provide legal services to any "removable alien or any alien otherwise unlawfully present in the United States," with some limited exceptions.

In 2024, California subgrantees used victim assistance funds to serve nearly 1 million Californians, including supporting more than 100,000 victims and families on various civil legal matters. Among other things, this funding supports crisis intervention, counseling and advocacy, emergency shelter, and transitional housing assistance. It also supports law enforcement initiatives such as training officers on trauma-informed and victim-centered responses; developing specialized domestic violence or sexual assault units; and improving evidence collection in sexual assault and domestic violence cases.

The "legal" support provided by VOCA and VAWA funding includes helping individuals file police reports and protective orders; applying for victim compensation and assisting with divorce or other parental visitation issues; asserting employment rights, providing debt relief, and addressing identity theft; accompanying victims to emergency medical care, forensic exams, and law enforcement interviews; and providing advice on obtaining housing, counseling, and emergency financial assistance.

In the lawsuit filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition assert that the "Unallowable Costs" condition:

• Violates the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution: The condition applies to existing grants, meaning the states had no opportunity to consider the condition before accepting their award. Moreover, the condition ambiguously restricts "legal services" without specifying the types of services that are subject to its restriction, leaving the state and their subgrantees to guess at which services are covered and will require them to implement onerous processes for verifying the immigration statuses of all clients before services can be offered.
• Is "Arbitrary and Capricious" in Violation of the Administrative Procedure Act: The Trump Administration has offered no explanation for the new condition - let alone a reasonable and well-reasoned one.
• Is "Contrary to Law" in Violation of the Administrative Procedure Act: The condition is in direct conflict with governing regulations providing that eligibility for services "is not dependent on the victim's immigration status."

Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of New York, Colorado, Illinois, Rhode Island, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia in filing the lawsuit.

A copy of the lawsuit is available here.