PROVIDENCE — The US Department of Justice has agreed not to apply restrictions on federal funding that would have cut off legal services to survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault who couldn’t prove their immigration status.
A coalition of 20 attorneys general had sued the DOJ in US District Court last month, after the federal government imposed new conditions on services provided under the Victims of Crime Act and Violence Against Women Act.
On Monday, the coalition and the DOJ secured a binding resolution guaranteeing the federal government will not apply the restrictions to states’ Victims of Crime Act Victim Assistance and Violence Against Women Act funds, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said.
“With this agreement, the Trump Administration is effectively surrendering, as well they should, for attempting to withhold critical funding for victims of sexual and domestic violence,” Neronha said in a statement. “When a victim seeks help, the first question can never and will never be concerning their immigration status. Our coalition has been overwhelmingly successful thus far in preventing the potential harm from this Administration’s worst instincts, and we will continue to fight, and win, on behalf of Americans everywhere.”
This is one of more than a dozen lawsuits that have been filed against the Trump administration in US District Court in Rhode Island.
“Grant funding distributed by the Department of Justice cannot be used to provide services to illegal aliens, unless otherwise required by federal law,” a DOJ spokeswoman stated in an email Monday afternoon. “The Department of Justice will continue to ensure taxpayer dollars are used responsibly and for services that directly benefit Americans and lawful residents to prevent American taxpayers from being treated like second-class citizens.”
The Victims of Crime Act and Violence Against Women Act programs enable states to support survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and other violent crimes. Under regulations, victim eligibility under the programs for direct services is not dependent on the victim’s immigration status.
The programs fund services that include legal representation for protective orders, custody and visitation matters, child support, housing and relocation assistance, and civil legal assistance.
The Violence Against Women Act also funds rape crisis centers that provide urgent support to victims of sexual assault.
In October, the coalition filed a lawsuit after DOJ informed states that they could no longer use Violence Against Women Act or Victims of Crime Act funding to provide legal services to undocumented immigrants. The new “Legal Services Condition” applied not only to future awards, but also to grants that had already been issued, some dating back years.