Seventeen statewide anti-domestic and sexual violence coalitions are suing President Donald Trump’s administration over requirements in grant applications that they don’t promote “gender ideology” or run diversity, equity and inclusion programs or prioritize people in the country illegally.
The groups say the requirements, which Trump ushered in with executive orders, put them in “an impossible position.”
If they don’t apply for federal money allocated under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, they might not be able to provide rape crisis centers, battered women’s shelters and other programs to support victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. But if the groups do apply, they said in the lawsuit, they would have to make statements they called “antithetical to their core values” — and take on legal risk.
In the lawsuit filed in US District Court in Rhode Island on Monday, the coalitions said that agreeing to the terms of grants could open them to federal investigations and enforcement actions as well as lawsuits from private parties.
The groups suing include some from Democratic-controlled states, such as the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, and in GOP-dominated ones, including the Idaho Coalition against Sexual and Domestic Violence.
The groups say the requirements are at odds with federal laws that require them not to discriminate on the basis of gender identity, to aid underserved racial and ethnic groups, and to emphasize immigrants with some programs and not to discriminate based on legal status.
The US Department of Justice, which is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, did not respond to a request for comment.
The suit is one of more than 200 filed since January to challenge President Donald Trump’s executive orders. There were similar claims in a suit over anti-DEI requirements in grants for groups that serve LGBTQ+ communities. A judge last week blocked the administration from enforcing those orders in context of those programs, for now.
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Anti-domestic violence groups are suing over the Trump administration’s grant requirements
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Anti-domestic violence groups are suing over the Trump administration’s grant requirements
- The groups say the requirements, which Trump ushered in with executive orders, put them in “an impossible position”
Trump administration expands ICE authority to detain refugees
- Under US law, refugees must apply for lawful permanent resident status one year after their arrival in the country
WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has given immigration officers broader powers to detain legal refugees awaiting a green card to ensure they are “re-vetted,” an apparent expansion of the president’s wide-ranging crackdown on legal and illegal immigration, according to a government memo.
The US Department of Homeland Security, in a memo dated February 18 and submitted in a federal court filing, said refugees must return to government custody for “inspection and examination” a year after their admission into the United States.
“This detain-and-inspect requirement ensures that refugees are re-vetted after one year, aligns post-admission vetting with that applied to other applicants for admission, and promotes public safety,” the department said in the memo.
Under US law, refugees must apply for lawful permanent resident status one year after their arrival in the country. The new memo authorizes immigration authorities to detain individuals for the duration of the re-inspection process.
The new policy is a shift from the earlier 2010 memorandum, which stated that failure to obtain lawful permanent resident status was not a “basis” for removal from the country and not a “proper basis” for detention.
The DHS did not respond to a Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours.
The decision has prompted criticism from refugee advocacy groups.
AfghanEvac’s president Shawn VanDiver called the directive “a reckless reversal of long-standing policy” and said it “breaks faith with people the United States lawfully admitted and promised protection.”
HIAS, formerly known as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, said the “move will cause grave harm to thousands of people who were welcomed to the United States after fleeing violence and persecution.” Under President Donald Trump, the number of people in ICE detention reached about 68,000 this month, up about 75 percent from when he took office last year.
Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda was a potent campaign issue that helped him win the 2024 election.
A US judge in January temporarily blocked a recently announced Trump administration policy targeting the roughly 5,600 lawful refugees in Minnesota who are awaiting green cards.
In a written ruling, US District Judge John Tunheim in Minneapolis said federal agents likely violated multiple federal statutes by arresting some of these refugees to subject them to additional vetting.
The US Department of Homeland Security, in a memo dated February 18 and submitted in a federal court filing, said refugees must return to government custody for “inspection and examination” a year after their admission into the United States.
“This detain-and-inspect requirement ensures that refugees are re-vetted after one year, aligns post-admission vetting with that applied to other applicants for admission, and promotes public safety,” the department said in the memo.
Under US law, refugees must apply for lawful permanent resident status one year after their arrival in the country. The new memo authorizes immigration authorities to detain individuals for the duration of the re-inspection process.
The new policy is a shift from the earlier 2010 memorandum, which stated that failure to obtain lawful permanent resident status was not a “basis” for removal from the country and not a “proper basis” for detention.
The DHS did not respond to a Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours.
The decision has prompted criticism from refugee advocacy groups.
AfghanEvac’s president Shawn VanDiver called the directive “a reckless reversal of long-standing policy” and said it “breaks faith with people the United States lawfully admitted and promised protection.”
HIAS, formerly known as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, said the “move will cause grave harm to thousands of people who were welcomed to the United States after fleeing violence and persecution.” Under President Donald Trump, the number of people in ICE detention reached about 68,000 this month, up about 75 percent from when he took office last year.
Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda was a potent campaign issue that helped him win the 2024 election.
A US judge in January temporarily blocked a recently announced Trump administration policy targeting the roughly 5,600 lawful refugees in Minnesota who are awaiting green cards.
In a written ruling, US District Judge John Tunheim in Minneapolis said federal agents likely violated multiple federal statutes by arresting some of these refugees to subject them to additional vetting.
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