By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department this week ordered states, local governments and non-profits not to use existing federal grant funds to provide legal services to immigrants in the country illegally or who could face deportation, according to an email seen by Reuters and interviews with grantees.
The department’s Office of Justice Programs issued that order in a Monday email to grantees, the same day that 21 Democratic-led states sued the DOJ for trying to impose conditions on upcoming fiscal year 2025 crime victim grant recipients, which would require them to cooperate with federal immigration authorities to be eligible to receive the funds.
That lawsuit challenges conditions that the DOJ is trying to impose on future grant awards, while the new spending restrictions apply retroactively to a variety of grants that were awarded during Democratic President Joe Biden’s tenure, including grants that combat human-trafficking and to assist and compensate victims of crime, grantees familiar with the notices told Reuters.
In the email, the Justice Department says that no DOJ grant money may be used to pay for “legal services to any removable alien or any alien otherwise unlawfully present in the United States.” It carves out exceptions for legal services related to obtaining protection orders for victims, or certain immigration legal services that are required by law or by a court order.
Reuters could not immediately determine how many grants were affected by the new restrictions.
A Justice Department spokesperson did not have any immediate comment on the new restrictions.
The effort by Republican President Donald Trump’s administration to impose new spending restrictions on existing grants could spark lawsuits, legal experts said.
“As a general legal proposition, when a grant or any other provision has been made pursuant to either a congressional authorization or a contract … it is not allowable to retroactively — unless agreed upon by those involved — change their terms,” said Abbe Lowell, a prominent defense attorney. “If they are unilaterally imposing retroactive conditions on that which doesn’t exist, then it’s challengeable.”
The restrictions impose significant challenges on victim services providers, who generally assist victims of crime without asking for their immigration status. By law, federal grant recipients are not allowed to discriminate against people on the basis of race, national origin or other protected classes. In addition, federal regulations adopted in 2016 expressly state that victim eligibility for direct services funded by the Justice Department’s VOCA Assistance Program, which is paid for by fines and penalties collected from convicted federal felons, is “not dependent on the victim’s immigration status.”
Hema Sarang-Sieminski, the executive director of Jane Doe, the Massachusetts coalition of direct service providers who assist victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and trafficking, said the spending restrictions could have a chilling effect on immigrants, many of whom are already afraid to report crimes to law enforcement.
A survey released in June by the Alliance for Immigrant Survivors found that 76% of advocates reported that immigrants have concerns about contacting the police to report domestic violence and sexual assault.
Sarang-Sieminski added that some of her coalition’s members are also worried that the Justice Department could try to claw back funds that were already spent, or create ethical dilemmas for attorneys.
“The fear of the impact on programs is huge,” she said.
Jean Bruggeman, executive director for Freedom Network USA, which works to help human-trafficking victims, said this could pose a complication for service providers who help victims sue their traffickers for damages and lost wages, or for groups who help victims try to navigate the legal process when traffickers are indicted for their crimes.
“When we agree to grant terms, we are bound by the solicitation language,” she said. “I anticipate litigation on this issue.”
This marks the second time that the Justice Department has targeted grants awarded during Biden’s time in office. In April, it terminated 365 grants valued at $811 million, claiming they were wasteful and not aligned with Trump administration priorities.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; additional reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell)
