Federal officials end effort to tie victim funding to immigration enforcement

Faced with a federal lawsuit filed by New Mexico and 19 other states, the Trump administration has dropped plans to tie $1.4 billion for victims’ programs to its immigration agenda, Attorney General Raúl Torrez said Friday.

The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday quietly posted on its website state-by-state allocations of Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) money for 2025 that appear to provide states with full funding appropriated by Congress.

New Mexico is slated to receive $1,231,000 in grants for crime victim assistance programs, such as sexual assault examinations, emergency shelters, medical and funeral expenses, and crime-scene cleanup.

The 2025 round of VOCA funding was cast in doubt in February when the Trump administration threatened to withhold grants from states that refused to comply with federal immigration enforcement.

A coalition of attorneys general in 20 states responded by filing an Aug. 18 lawsuit in U.S. District Court, District of Rhode Island, asking a judge to block the action.

The suit argued that tying the funding to federal immigration priorities violates the constitutional separation of powers.

“As a career prosecutor I have always fought to ensure victims have the resources, respect, and support they deserve,” Torrez said in a statement issued Friday. “This lawsuit was never about politics — it was about protecting nearly $1.4 billion in critical funding for victims of crime.”

VOCA was enacted in 1984 creating grant programs to help states to provide resources and services to victims and survivors of crime, the statement said.

“This victory allows us to honor our commitment to crime victims and their families and it is something that I will always fight for,” Torrez said.

VOCA is funded by fines, fees and penalties collected in federal court proceedings. States are authorized by law to use the funding for victim services, including domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers and victim and witness offices in state district attorneys’ offices.

“These funds have long ensured that states could fulfill their most fundamental duties, to protect public safety and redress harm to their residents,” the New Mexico Department of Justice said in a statement. Congress requires the distribution of most VOCA funding based on fixed formulas, it said.

The grants will continue to be provided to states with no requirement that they assist federal immigration enforcement, the statement said.