Attorney General Tong Joins Multistate Coalition to Protect Law Enforcement Funding

08/21/2026

(Hartford, CT) - Today, Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in filing an updated and amended lawsuit over the illegal imposition of immigration-enforcement conditions on Congressionally authorized public safety grants, including grants intended to keep law enforcement officers safe and fight crime.

“Trump is once again playing politics with public safety and trying to bully states into enforcing his reckless and unlawful immigration agenda. These conditions are an insult to survivors and victims of crime, and to our police and prosecutors. We’ve stopped him before and we will continue to fight to protect Connecticut families and Connecticut law enforcement,” said Attorney General Tong.

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 the conditions on over $1.3 billion of VOCA funds.

However, this year, the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) has applied these illegal 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.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance within USDOJ allocated more than $6.8 million in Byrne JAG formula funds to Connecticut from fiscal year 2022 to fiscal year 2025.

Civil immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility and not a state government responsibility. The Trump Administration’s unlawful attempts to coerce states into doing their 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 Tong and the coalition are requesting that the court declare the Trump Administration’s actions unlawful and permanently enjoin any implementation or enforcement of these illegal conditions.

Joining Attorney General Tong in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Delaware, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

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