Democratic attorneys general from 20 states and the District of Columbia asked a federal judge in Rhode Island to block the U.S. Department of Justice from tying immigration-enforcement cooperation to grants distributed under the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA). The Trump administration’s new rules would allow the department to withhold funds unless states honor civil detainer requests, grant immigration agents access to detention facilities and give advance notice of inmate release dates. The lawsuit argues that those conditions exceed the department’s statutory authority and contradict Congress’s intent to ensure crime victims receive support without fear of deportation repercussions. VOCA directs more than $1 billion a year, financed by federal court fines, to cover expenses such as medical bills, counseling and rape-kit testing. Illinois officials say $54 million earmarked for their state could be lost, while other plaintiffs warned that domestic-violence shelters, child-advocacy centers and trauma-recovery programs nationwide would face immediate shortfalls if the policy stands. The filing marks the latest confrontation between Democratic-led jurisdictions and the Trump administration over linking federal dollars to immigration priorities; earlier this month the Justice Department published an updated list of so-called sanctuary jurisdictions and signaled it would continue litigation to compel local cooperation. The department has not publicly responded to the new challenge.