Press Release: 11/6/2026

AG Campbell Wins Case Against Trump Administration Protecting Crucial Law Enforcement Funding

Trump Administration Attempted to Place Unlawful Conditions on Public Safety Funding

For immediate release:

11/05/2026

Office of the Attorney General

BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and a coalition of 23 states secured an important victory in court that stops the federal government’s imposition of illegal immigration-enforcement conditions on Congressionally-authorized public safety grants, including grants intended to keep law enforcement officers safe and fight crime.

A federal judge in the District of Rhode Island declared the Trump Administration’s actions unlawful and permanently enjoined any implementation or enforcement of these illegal conditions.

“This ruling ensures Massachusetts can continue receiving essential funding that keeps our communities and law enforcement officers safe, without being forced to comply with the Trump Administration’s cruel immigration agenda,” said AG Campbell. “The federal government’s threat to withhold this funding was cruel and illegal – the safety of our communities should never be used as a pawn in the President’s political games. I will continue fighting to preserve federal funding to Massachusetts and protect our residents from harm.”

Last year, the Trump Administration disregarded the intent of Congress and illegally declared that states would be unable to access Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funds unless they agreed to the Administration’s extreme immigration demands. After filing a lawsuit, the multistate coalition succeeded in getting the federal government to remove those conditions on nearly $1.4 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). 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 Fiscal Year 2025, Massachusetts received more than $3.78 million in Byrne JAG grant funding to support several local police departments across the state. Among other purposes, these funds have been used for readiness training for active shooter situations; mobile repeaters to improve communications with officers on patrol in remote settings; to detect and prevent contraband at various holding facilities; and to replace vehicles and equipment (including cruisers, motorcycles, utility vehicles, tactical vests, firearms storage system, radios, and computers).

The Court rejected the federal government’s attempts to conscript the state into civil immigration enforcement. The coalition argued the Trump Administration’s unlawful attempts to coerce states into doing their bidding conflicted with core principles of American governance, like the separation of powers and federalism, and violated laws passed by Congress as well as the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Joining AG Campbell in filing this lawsuit were the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, as well as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

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