Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha and a coalition of other Democratic attorneys general filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration Monday, accusing the federal government of restricting access to funds allocated for victims of crime.

At issue is funding related to the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), enacted in 1984, which created a series of grant programs by which states provide support to victims of crime. Much of the money comes from fines and penalties collected in federal cases.

The suit contends that the Trump Administration is using these grant programs to coerce states into cooperating with Trump directives on immigration enforcement. Conditions set on a recent call for grant proposals, for instance, would require states to provide access to victims with whom

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