MADISON, Wis. – Attorney General Josh Kaul announced that, following the lawsuit that Wisconsin and a coalition of states filed challenging conditions the Trump administration had sought to impose on Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grants, the administration has lifted the unlawful conditions.
The lawsuit, filed Aug. 18, is the first of two multistate lawsuits Kaul has joined to challenge conditions on the use of federal funds for crime victims. This case involved unlawful conditions that would have required states to devote resources to federal immigration enforcement – a federal, not state, government responsibility.
Following this lawsuit, the U.S. Department of Justice has abandoned its plan to restrict access to nearly $1.4 billion in VOCA grants nationwide on this basis. Wisconsin could have lost more than $24 million in federal funding for victim service programs.
“This is funding that helps make a difference for victims of crime,” said AG Kaul. “The Trump administration shouldn’t have tried to tie states’ access to this funding to their assistance with immigration enforcement.”
VOCA funding helps provide direct compensation for crime victims and helps support local advocacy, counseling, and crisis response programs in states. Nationwide, VOCA grants help nearly 9 million crime victims each year.
Joining AG Kaul in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.
View this press release on the DOJ website here.
