Today, Attorney General Jennifer Davenport co-led a coalition of 22 attorneys general and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in filing an updated and amended lawsuit challenging the federal government’s imposition of illegal immigration-enforcement conditions on Congressionally-authorized public safety grants, including grants intended to keep law enforcement officers safe and fight crime.

Amended and Supplemental Complaint

“This is an outrageous maneuver that uses our dedicated law enforcement personnel as pawns in a political game,” said Attorney General Davenport. “This administration is holding up funding that helps pay for protective equipment for law enforcement, fight drug trafficking, enforce Megan’s Law, and find violent criminals. We will not let this administration attach illegal conditions to essential federal funding – funding that New Jerseyans send to Washington, D.C., through our tax dollars.”

Last year, the Trump Administration, disregarding the clear letter of the law and intent of Congress, declared that states will be unable to access Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funds unless they agree to the Administration’s extreme immigration demands. The multistate coalition succeeded in getting the federal government to remove those conditions on over $1.3 billion of VOCA funds.

However, this year, the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) has applied these illegal conditions to new grants, including funds dedicated to law enforcement and juvenile justice.

Among the affected programs is the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Formula Grants (known as the Byrne JAG Program). The Byrne JAG Program was named after a rookie New York City Police Department officer who was ambushed in his patrol car while protecting a witness in a drug case in 1988. For decades, regardless of which political party held power, the Byrne JAG Program has been the leading federal source of criminal justice funding to state and local governments.

In New Jersey, law enforcement agencies have received over $21 million from Byrne JAG funds through the State from FY 2019 to FY 2024. Beyond just the Byrne JAG program, this action also impacts funding for crisis intervention and youth justice programs.

Civil immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility and not a state government responsibility. The Trump Administration’s unlawful attempts to coerce states into doing their bidding conflict with core principles of American governance – the separation of powers and federalism. The Administration’s actions violate the Administrative Procedures Act and the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution in multiple ways.

As such, Attorney General Davenport and the coalition are requesting that the court declare the Trump Administration’s actions unlawful and permanently enjoin any implementation or enforcement of these illegal conditions.

Attorney General Davenport is represented in this matter by Deputy Attorneys General Bassam F. Gergi, Nathaniel F. Rubin, Phoenix N. Meyers, Sarah Nealon, and Surinder K. Aggarwal, under the supervision of Assistant Attorney General Mayur P. Saxena, Deputy Solicitor General Shankar Duraiswamy, and Solicitor General Jeremy M. Feigenbaum.

In addition to New Jersey, this lawsuit is being co-led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha. It is joined by the Attorneys General of Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, as well as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.