Attorney General Brown Joins Multistate Coalition to Protect Law Enforcement Funding

​​​​​​​​​​​FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in filing an updated and amended lawsuit - PDF over the unlawful imposition of immigration-enforcement conditions on Congressionally-authorized public safety grants, including grants intended to keep law enforcement officers safe and fight crime.

“The federal government is unlawfully conditioning grants that keep Maryland officers safe, prevent violence, and promote firearm safety in our communities,” said Attorney General Brown. “We joined this lawsuit because public safety should never be used as leverage to force states into doing Washington’s immigration work.”

Last year, the Trump administration, disregarding the clear letter of the law and intent of Congress, declared that states will be unable to access Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funds unless they agree to the Administration’s extreme immigration demands. The multistate coalition succeeded in getting the federal government to remove those conditions on over $1.3 billion of VOCA funds. 

However, this year, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has applied these unlawful conditions to new grants, including funds dedicated to law enforcement and juvenile justice.

Among the affected programs is the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Formula Grants (known as the Byrne JAG Program). The Byrne JAG Program was named after a rookie New York City Police Department officer who was ambushed in his patrol car while protecting a witness in a drug case in 1988. For decades, regardless of which political party held power, the Byrne JAG Program has been the leading federal source of criminal justice funding to state and local governments. 

In Maryland, DOJ grants fund a broad range of programs and services supporting public safety, victim services, and the administration of justice. For example, the Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office Safe Pathways project uses Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program funds, which is separate from the Byrne JAG Program and is also affected by these conditions, to support firearm safe-storage education, community outreach, behavioral health referrals, and violence prevention. The program has served more than 17,000 individuals, engaged over 10,400 participants, conducted 97 outreach events, delivered 890 firearm safety trainings, and made 173 referrals for supportive services.

Civil immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility and not a state government responsibility. The Trump administration’s unlawful attempts to coerce states into doing its bidding conflict with core principles of American governance – the separation of powers and federalism. The Administration’s actions violate the Administrative Procedures Act and the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution in multiple ways.

As such, Attorney General Brown and the coalition are requesting that the court declare the Trump administration’s actions unlawful and permanently enjoin any implementation or enforcement of these unlawful conditions.

Joining Attorney General Brown in this lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, as well as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

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