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DOJ Drops Immigration Restriction — States Can Use VAWA/VOCA Grants for Immigrant Victims

The Justice Department will not apply a newly announced immigration-related funding restriction to existing grant awards, allowing 19 states and the District of Columbia to drop a lawsuit. The disputed condition would have limited use of certain federal grants — including VAWA and VOCA — for legal and support services to immigrants unlawfully present in the U.S. State officials argued the policy conflicted with regulations that prohibit conditioning victim services on immigration status. The DOJ formalized its narrower position in a court filing, preserving aid for survivors.

06:13 AM, 11/25/2025Politics
DOJ Drops Immigration Restriction — States Can Use VAWA/VOCA Grants for Immigrant Victims

The U.S. Department of Justice has reversed course and agreed not to enforce a new immigration-related condition on certain federal victim-service grants, allowing a group of Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia to continue using funds to help immigrant survivors who are in the United States unlawfully.

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia agreed on Monday to drop a lawsuit they filed last month after the Justice Department said it would not apply the disputed condition to their current grant awards.

“Attacking survivors is despicable, and I am relieved that the federal government has backed down from this dangerous policy,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.

The states had filed suit in federal court in Rhode Island after being notified in August that funds from three grant programs could not be used to provide legal services for immigrants the government described as "unlawfully present in the United States." The grants at issue include funds administered under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), which support services for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking and other violent crimes.

State officials said they rely on these grants to provide a wide range of victim services, including legal representation in family and protective-order proceedings, relocation and housing assistance, and reimbursement for medical bills and funeral costs. They argued the newly announced condition was unlawful and conflicted with existing regulations that bar eligibility limits for victim services based on immigration status.

In an Oct. 22 court filing, the Justice Department defended its general authority to impose conditions on federal grants and said the states were attempting to "force the government to continue to fund legal services for illegal aliens with federal taxpayer dollars." However, in that same filing the department narrowed its position with respect to VOCA and VAWA, stating the immigration-related condition would not apply to grants under those programs because of existing regulations.

In a subsequent filing on Monday, the Justice Department confirmed that position and agreed the immigration-related conditions will not apply to the states' current open awards under VAWA and VOCA. With that agreement, the states withdrew the lawsuit.

This outcome preserves funding that state and local agencies use to protect and assist victims, including those who are immigrants and may be particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.

Reporting: Nate Raymond.

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