California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced that the U.S. Department of Justice (U.S. DOJ) has backed down following a multistate lawsuit and committed to drop illegal conditions on Victims of Crimes Act (VOCA) Victim Assistance and Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) grant funding. Last month, Attorney General Bonta joined 20 attorneys general in challenging a 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. With today’s stipulation and dismissal, Attorney General Bonta preserves California organizations’ ability to use the over $160 million in grant funding that the State received this year, and tens of millions of funding from prior years, to provide legal services to victims of crimes without unnecessary and unlawful restrictions.
“Today’s decision marks another good outcome for California communities and the incredible organizations, programs, and services that support them,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The Trump Administration must stop playing games with peoples’ lives. Yanking funding from victims of crimes benefits no one. It only makes our communities less safe. While U.S. DOJ has backed down in the face of our litigation, these organizations did not deserve the whiplash of the past few months. California and our partner states will continue to fight back against President’s lawlessness and his callous disregard for our residents’ safety and well-being.”