20 states sue Trump administration for threatening safety grants over immigration compliance

Wisconsin joined 19 other states and commonwealths suing the Trump administration over conditions attached to federal public-safety grants that fund crime-victim assistance, drug task forces, and juvenile justice programs nationwide. The lawsuit argues the administration is illegally using more than a billion dollars in congressionally authorized funding as leverage to force state cooperation with civil immigration enforcement.

Wisconsin alone stands to lose over $6 million, including $3.2 million in grant assistance, $2.1 million for a crisis intervention program, and $800,000 for juvenile justice and delinquency prevention. Attorney General Josh Kaul called the funding threat an abuse of authority, noting the money should not be used as a bargaining chip.

This is not the administration's first attempt at this maneuver — a similar threat last year targeted $1.3 billion in Victims of Crime Act funds, prompting a lawsuit that led the administration to reverse course and release the money. This year's version targets juvenile justice and law enforcement grants instead, suggesting the reversal taught a lesson about optics rather than legality.

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