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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 6, 2025 |
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After Lawsuit Brought by Coalition of 21 Attorneys General, Trump Administration Backs Down on Blocking Access to Over $1.4 Billion for Victims and Survivors of Crimes
LANSING – After joining a multi-state lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has announced that following the filing of the lawsuit, the DOJ has now dropped its plan to impose illegal conditions on nearly $1.4 billion in Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grants. Earlier this year, the Trump Administration, disregarding the clear letter of the law and intent of Congress, declared that states would be unable to access VOCA funds – used to support victims and survivors of crimes – unless they accede to the Trump Administration’s extreme immigration priorities.
“As Michigan’s Attorney General, one of my main responsibilities is to protect crime victims and fight for their justice,” Nessel said. “The Trump Administration’s attempt to place unlawful conditions on critical VOCA funding threatened to deny survivors the support they need to heal and rebuild their lives. Those conditions would have also required that victims’ detailed personal information be shared with the federal government when demanded — a blatant invasion of privacy that would have been used to target victims themselves rather than their abusers. I am relieved this effort has been abandoned.”
The State of Michigan has received between $27 million and $43 million in VOCA funding each year for the past 5 years. The grants have been awarded to approximately 115 victim service organizations throughout the state who provide critical services to victims of child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, and human trafficking. These organizations include child advocacy centers, sexual assault nurse examiner programs, domestic violence shelters and service providers, rape crisis centers, anti-human trafficking organizations, legal services for victims, elder abuse resources, and trauma recovery centers.
VOCA was enacted in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan, creating a series of grant programs to enable States to provide critical resources and services to victims and survivors of crime as they try to restore normalcy in their lives, including victim and witness advocacy services, emergency shelter, medical, funeral, and burial expenses, crime scene cleanup, sexual assault forensic exams, and much more. These funding streams—totaling more than a billion dollars a year nationwide—have long ensured that states could fulfill their most fundamental duties: to protect public safety and redress harm to their residents. States use these funds to assist nearly 9 million crime victims per year and to provide compensation for more than 200,000 victims’ claims per year. Congress has required the distribution of nearly all VOCA funding to states based on fixed statutory formulas and has repeatedly acted to ensure sufficient funding for crime victims, including after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
However, the Trump Administration, through the DOJ, previously declared that States, along with the victims and survivors they serve, would be blocked from these funds unless they comply with the Administration’s political agenda – namely, its immigration enforcement priorities. In order to receive these funds, states were told that they must cooperate and, if requested, assist with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in civil immigration enforcement efforts – a federal, not state, government responsibility.
Following the lawsuit brought forward by the coalition, the DOJ abandoned its plan to impose the conditions on $178 million in VOCA Victim Assistance Grants and $1.2 billion in VOCA Victim Compensation grants. These grants will continue to be provided to states with no unlawful immigration enforcement conditions placed on them.
Attorney General Nessel Also Files New Lawsuit Against DOJ to Protect Services for Crime Survivors
Last week, a coalition of states also filed a new lawsuit (PDF) against the DOJ to block other new restrictions on VOCA funding and other federal grant funding to states that support survivors of domestic violence and other violent crimes. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in the District of Rhode Island, challenges a policy barring states from using VOCA, Byrne Justice Assistance, and Violence Against Women Act grant funds to provide legal services to undocumented immigrants, or other individuals who cannot prove their status. Attorney General Nessel and the coalition argue that the new policy is unconstitutional, violates the Administrative Procedures Act, and directly conflicts with DOJ’s own regulations.
“Telling crime victims that they don’t deserve legal help or access to a lawyer or protection because of their immigration status is cruel and dangerous,” Nessel said. “It is not only inhumane – it makes all of us less safe by silencing victims and shielding abusers from accountability. While the Trump Administration may turn its back on vulnerable survivors, my office will stand up for those in need and the safety of Michiganders.”
Attorney General Nessel and the coalition warn that the new restrictions will upend victim services programs, cut off critical resources, and discourage survivors from seeking help. If service providers have to screen victims’ or witnesses’ immigration status, they could be forced to deny protection to families in crisis – a policy that would ultimately silence survivors and erode trust between communities and law enforcement. The attorneys general also highlight the fact that many service providers do not have the capacity or resources necessary to enact such screening processes. Along with the lawsuit, the coalition filed a motion for preliminary injunction asking the court to stop the legal services restriction from taking effect in their states.
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