Twenty states, along with the District of Columbia, have sued the U.S. Department of Justice, claiming that new immigration-related conditions on federal crime victim funding are unlawful. The case was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.

The plaintiffs claim the Justice Department is requiring them to provide federal immigration authorities with access to detainees, honor requests from the Department of Homeland Security, and avoid policies viewed as limiting immigration enforcement to be able to receive grants under the Victims of Crime Act. The Office for Victims of Crime, which administers the grants, issued the new conditions last month.

The lawsuit argues that the department lacks authority to impose these requirements, which the plaintiffs say are unrelated to the purpose of the 1984 statute. Congress created the Crime Victims Fund to cover expenses such as medical care, funeral and burial costs, counseling, shelter, and other services for victims of crime. Attorneys general from New Jersey, Rhode Island, California, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, and other states allege the conditions violate the separation of powers, the Spending Clause, and the Administrative Procedure Act.

According to the complaint, the policy could jeopardize hundreds of millions of dollars that states rely on each year to maintain victim services. In the last fiscal year, states received more than $600 million in assistance grants, which supported over 2.8 million victims nationwide. The claim alleges that with these immigration restrictions, hotlines, shelters, sexual assault response teams, and compensation for medical and other out-of-pocket expenses may be scaled back or cut entirely.

The plaintiffs also argue that the conditions could undermine public safety by discouraging immigrant victims and witnesses from cooperating with law enforcement. Several of the states involved in the lawsuit have laws or policies limiting local participation in federal civil immigration enforcement.

The deadline for applications for the 2025 grant cycle is August 20, with awards announced by September 30. The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction to prevent the Justice Department from enforcing the conditions, warning that any lapse in funding would cause irreparable harm to victim services.

A hearing date on the states’ request for emergency relief has not yet been set, but the court is expected to take up the matter before the end of September.