Policies & Analysis

Civil rights and anti-hate organizations have sued the Trump administration for terminating the congressionally established Anti-Hate Crimes Grant Program. The Trump administration discontinued the Program in April 2025 through mass-mailed notices lacking the individualized explanations required by law. The plaintiffs argue that the abrupt and unexplained termination of the Program violates the Administrative Procedure Act, the Fifth Amendment, and the separation of powers, and constitutes ultra vires action. They seek declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as vacatur of final agency action. On September 23, 2025, the case was transferred from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (1:25-cv-03676) to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (1:25-cv-03248) because the factual circumstances and claims at issue closely relate to those raise in Vera Institute of Justice v. DOJ (1:25-cv-01643).