By Nate Raymond
(Reuters) -A group of Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit on Wednesday challenging new U.S. restrictions barring them from using federal grant funding to provide legal services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault if they are immigrants living in the United States illegally.
The lawsuit marked the latest legal action by Democratic state attorneys general aimed at blocking Republican President Donald Trump's Justice Department from imposing new, often immigration-related
restrictions on federal grant funding their states had long relied on.
"Sexual assault and domestic violence survivors turn to our courts for safety and protection," New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. "They should never be turned away because of who they are or where they come from."
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit was filed in Rhode Island federal court after the Justice Department informed states in August that they could no longer use money from three grant programs to pay for "legal services to any removable alien or any alien otherwise unlawfully present in the United States."
Among the grants at issue were ones issued pursuant to the Violence Against Women Act and Victims of Crime Act, which allow the states to support victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking and other violent crimes.
The 20 states and the District of Columbia said they rely on grants from those programs to provide victim services, including representation in family court for protective orders; relocation and housing assistance; and compensation for medical bills and funeral costs.
The Justice Department's new policy also applies to Byrne Justice Assistance Grants, which states and local governments use to fund criminal justice initiatives and, in some states, public defenders’ offices.
The states argue that by attaching retroactive and ambiguous conditions to previously-awarded grants, the Justice Department's new restrictions are arbitrary and capricious and violate the U.S. Constitution’s Spending Clause, which grants Congress the power over federal spending.
The states say the new policy also conflicts with Violence Against Women Act and Victims of Crime Act regulations that they say make clear eligibility for victim services cannot be based on immigration status.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Aurora Ellis)
