Michigan Challenges Federal Policy Linking Crime Victim Funds to Immigration Cooperation
Amid ongoing legal challenges, Michigan’s attorney general has joined a multi-state lawsuit opposing the Trump administration’s new policy on federal crime victim funds. The latest legal action targets the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent requirements tied to the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding.
The new policy mandates that recipients of VOCA funds must comply with requests from immigration enforcement agencies to share data and records. According to the lawsuit, such requirements exceed the DOJ’s authority as outlined in the Victims of Crime Act, effectively making them unlawful.
“Nothing in VOCA or any other statute authorizes USDOJ to impose immigration-related funding conditions on grant programs intended to support the victims of crime. Because USDOJ lacks the statutory authority to impose these conditions, they are unlawful,” the complaint asserts. The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island seeks to halt the enforcement of these requirements nationwide.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has expressed strong opposition to the policy changes, emphasizing the negative impact on the confidentiality and trust between crime victims and state agencies. “To say now that we have to share it with anybody in the federal government who asks for it as long as it’s for immigration purposes, really, it undercuts and it defeats the whole notion of this kind of privacy that we provide to victims of violent crime,” Nessel stated.
Michigan law further complicates compliance, as it restricts the sharing of personal information for survivors of crimes such as domestic violence or sexual assault, where exposure could pose physical danger. The attorney general’s office has indicated that over 100 organizations in Michigan, including rape crisis and child advocacy centers, could lose approximately $37 million in funding due to the federal policy shift.
“This is critical funding. We are not going to be able to pursue so many different cases without it. And again, that’s going to create just more crime victims because it means that criminal defendants will get off the hook because we won’t be able to prosecute those cases,” Nessel explained.
The Justice Department has refrained from commenting on the ongoing litigation. This legal action is consistent with several other lawsuits Michigan has filed since President Donald Trump’s return to office, challenging various federal funding cuts.
In recent months, Nessel’s office has contested reductions in funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, school mental health programs, and U.S. Department of Energy grants.
Despite the numerous lawsuits, Nessel noted that her office has spent under $10,000 on these legal battles, yet their efforts have secured approximately $1.6 billion in federal funding.
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