Good afternoon: Sorry for the second email, but I just became aware of another lawsuit filed yesterday by a coalition of states seeking to enjoin the enforcement of immigration conditions on the VOCA - Victims of Crime Act - grants. The case is New Jersey v. U.S. Dept. of Justice. The grants, some of which are formula grants and some of which are competitive grants, help states and local governments support victims in the immediate aftermath of a crime and the program was established by Congress in the 1980s. According to the Complaint, the DOJ has announced that States cannot access VOCA grant funds unless they accept certain immigration-related funding conditions. Per the Complaint, the Office for Victims of Crime (housed within DOJ) NOFOs provide that "[a]ny program or activity that, directly or indirectly, violates (or promotes or facilitates the violation of) federal immigration law (including 8 U.S.C. § 1373) or impedes or hinders the enforcement of federal immigration law-including by failing to comply with 8 U.S.C. § 1373, give access to DHS agents, or honor DHS requests and provide requested notice to DHS agents" is "out of the program scope and will not be funded". The States all have policies that seek to ensure immigrants can come forward to state and local law enforcement agencies when they have been a victim or witness to a crime without fear of deportation. They argue that these conditions would require the States to provide information about victims of crimes who may be interacting with their victim services programs and who could then be targeted for immigration enforcement. The States argue the conditions are unlawful because DOJ lacks the statutory authority to impose them and that their imposition violates the APA, separation of powers, and the Spending Clause. The Complaint asks the court to declare the that the adoption of the conditions violates the APA and to preliminarily and permanently enjoin Defendants from implementing or enforcing the Immigration Enforcement Conditions against Plaintiff States, including their subdivisions and instrumentalities. Here is a copy of the complaint: https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/Dkt.%20No.%201%20%28Complaint%29.pdf [logo]<https://imla.org/> [facebook icon]<https://www.facebook.com/InternationalMunicipalLawyersAssociation/>[twitter icon]<https://twitter.com/imlalegal>[linkedin icon]<https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-municipal-lawyers-association-inc./> Amanda Karras (she/her) Executive Director / General Counsel International Municipal Lawyers Association P: (202) 466-5424 x7116 D: (202) 742-1018 51 Monroe St. Suite 404 Rockville, MD, 20850 Plan Ahead! See IMLA's upcoming events<https://imla.org/events/>, calls and programming.