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Forbes
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
Inside America's Quiet Safety Revolution: How Local Leaders Are Cutting Crime Without More Cops
Collage of Getty Images featuring the three Mayors on the frontline of America's Crime Rate ... More Reduction : (1) Birmingham Mayor, (2) Chicago Mayor, (3) Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott /Getty Images. Used with permission from Getty Images. After years of headlines and reports warning of rising violence and disastrously high crime rates, something remarkable is happening: America's crime rates are quickly dropping. According to new data from the Vera Institute of Justice and the Council on Criminal Justice, homicides in the U.S. fell by 16 percent in 2024, with early 2025 showing an even sharper decline. In some cities, shootings are down nearly 40 percent. The national murder rate is now approaching pre-pandemic levels—despite political rhetoric suggesting otherwise. 'In and even in 2024, we are nationally at crime rates that match pre-pandemic lows.' said Insha Rahman, vice president of advocacy and partnerships at the Vera Institute of Justice. 'The increase in crime that happened as a result of the COVID-19 was basically wiped out entirely by 2024 and now we are witnessing declines that go even beyond pre-pandemic lows.' Rahman, who's also director of Vera Action, an independent, but aligned, sister nonprofit organization, highlighted double-digit declines in homicides and violent crime in Chicago, Baltimore, Birmingham, and Detroit. She and Vera Institute credit this decline to the work of municipal leaders and their crime prevention strategies. 'Cities in particular, and this isn't just big urban cities, but actually more suburban communities, are making real investment in building out a larger, comprehensive public safety infrastructure that supports police to focus on serious crime and then expands the tools and the toolkit of who should be the right first responder to a crisis to prevent crime,' she said. Insha Rahman (Photo by David Buchan/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images) While the downward trend began nearly a year before President Trump's return to the White House, the Trump administration has taken credit, without any evidence linking their deportation strategy to an overall decrease in crime. 'We've removed thousands of violent criminal, illegal aliens from our communities… and just a few months into office, the national murder rate has plummeted by 28 percent,' the President said during a roundtable with the Fraternal Order of Police. Despite shifting political rhetoric from Washington, the data tells a different—and encouraging—story. The United States is in the midst of a sustained, nationwide decline in violent crime. Part of a broader, multi-year trend led by local governments, the decrease began in the wake of the pandemic's peak. However, federal budget cuts stand to threaten the progress driven by targeted community investments, data-informed law enforcement, and a renewed focus on public and mental health. This multi-year decline comes at a time when local police departments are operating with fewer officers. A 2024 survey by the International Association of Chiefs of Police found that departments are operating with a nearly 10 percent staffing deficit, with 65 percent reporting reduced services. Rahman sees this as further evidence that violent crime can't be solved through law enforcement alone. 'There has been decades of research that have found that simply adding more police is not going to drive down crime rates,' she said. She went on to explain that, 'we have actually seen in recent years as police departments have gotten smaller and again seen crime rates go down. So there's just no correlation between investing more in police and more funding for police and crime going down.' Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former middle school social studies public school teacher, visiting ... More Englewood STEM High School on the city's South side. As part of his mayoral agenda, Johnson has been focused on centering the voice of young Chicago residents and investing in all of Chicago neighborhoods—especially those usually left behind by previous mayors. Rahman also referenced a 2024 Brookings study which, based on the analysis of police records, found a direct connection between the 2020 spike in violent crime and local unemployment and school closures in low-income communities. The report highlights how violence is concentrated in areas of poverty due to a lack of opportunity, weaker social networks, income disparities, and environmental hazards, like lead paint and air pollution, which are linked to violent behavior later in life. Municipal leaders and mayors, Rahman argues, have been on the front lines of bringing violent crime to historic lows. In mid-July, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson marked the one-year anniversary of the Scaling Community Violence Intervention for a Safer Chicago (SC2) initiative. The program targets neighborhoods on the South and West Sides where gun violence surged. "It's policing and affordable housing, policing and mental and behavioral health services," Mayor Johnson said at the event. "We have 29,000 young people that will have summer jobs this summer: a 45 percent increase. But it is also working with every single level of government.' The $400 million public-private partnership expanded violence intervention efforts and aimed to address gun-related crime through holistic solutions. According to the mayor's office, fatal shootings are down 25 percent over the past 12 months, and overall crime is down 33 percent. As Rahman explained, Johnson's administration has invested in public schools, parks, and programs to support vulnerable residents—all while navigating a politically resistant city and statewide apparatus. Investing and supporting Community Violence Interruptors is a core element of Chicago's efforts to ... More make communities and neighborhoods safer. At a visit to the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago, Johnson sat down with a group of Interrupters to hear about their 4th of July weekend efforts to reduce violence. 'There's a lot to be said about managing a big city where a lot of politics is against you, as Mr. Johnson has experienced from the beginning of his mayoralty,' she said. Given those circumstances, Johnson told Forbes he and his team are proud of what they've accomplished. 'We've seen a significant reduction in crime and violence in Chicago because of our focus on more effective and strategic policing, our partnerships between law enforcement and community violence intervention groups, and our investments in people, particularly mental health services and youth summer jobs, " he said. Johnson, a longtime resident of Chicago's Austin neighborhood, which was deeply impacted by the pandemic crime spike, focused safety efforts on the 35 most violent police beats in the city, often characterized by the convergence of poverty, unemployment, and historic disinvestment. Mayor Brandon Scott, a father of three, visiting residents of Baltimore's Cherry Hill neighborhood ... More as part of a Listening Session with the Baltimore City's Mayor Office for Overdose Response. In 2017, Baltimore sued the opioid industry for their role in fueling the city's opioid epidemic and its impact on public health and crime. With those settlements dollars, the city has been able to tackle the opioid epidemic head on and make neighborhoods safer. In Baltimore, more than 700 miles east of Chicago, a similar approach is unfolding as second-term mayor Brandon Scott makes crime reduction his political north star. Once labeled one of America's most dangerous cities, Baltimore has seen a 22 percent drop in homicides, a 19 percent drop in nonfatal shootings, and a 71 percent reduction in juvenile homicide victims—a 50-year low. "As someone who grew up in Baltimore in the 80s and 90s, the era of stop and frisk, I know from experience that making our city safer cannot be the job of the police department alone,' said Scott, a native Baltimorean whose high school is just blocks from City Hall 'It takes all of us working together, with a shared vision, to deliver the kind of sustained progress we're seeing today.' As part of its Group Violence Reduction Strategy, the city coordinates law enforcement, community leaders, and health providers to address the root causes of crime. The program includes job training, education, and relocation services for individuals most at risk. Baltimore is also seeing citywide declines in auto thefts (down 34 percent), robberies (22 percent), arson (10 percent), and carjackings (15 percent). Scott credits the work of residents and long-term investments poured into the community under his leadership. 'It takes investments beyond the police department, including in resources like rec centers, parks, pools, and schools, to build healthy, resilient communities that nurture healthy, resilient people,' Scott said. These gains also come as migration to the city increases at a relatively high rate. Scott attributes this gain to community members who are making the choice to heal their city. Mayor Brandon Scott addressing youth at Baltimore's 5th Annual Safe Summer Event. 'But our work is far from over. 68 lives lost to violence is 68 too many,' Scott said. 'While we acknowledge the historic lows we are experiencing, we must simultaneously acknowledge that there is much more work to do and our success makes me commit even further to doing it.' In Birmingham, the year-to-date homicide rate dropped by 52 percent as Mayor Randall Woodfin champions a community-first approach. 'The Birmingham Police Department is extremely aggressive in what they are doing and how they're taking a different approach in policing our community.' Woodfin told The Washington Informer. Birmingham, Ala., Mayor Randall Woodfin, moderates a conversation with Vice President Kamala Harris ... More at the National Urban League Annual Conference, on Friday, July 22, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Like Johnson, Woodfin is making progress without full support from higher levels of government. While the Chicago mayor faces opposition from fellow Democrats in City Hall and the State Capital, Woodfin contends with a Republican-led state legislature. This past spring, in what was seen as a power grab, Alabama lawmakers passed a bill to restructure the city's locally controlled Water Works Board. The success of all three mayors, all of whom are Black men, has been aided by federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. Signed by President Biden, the law created 2,300 new early-intervention programs and allowed 3,500 public schools to expand their violence prevention teams. It also triggered investments in mental health care, housing, and responses to other root causes of crime. But in July, much of that funding was repealed through President Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' which cut Medicaid, food programs, and community-based safety initiatives—returning to a traditional law-enforcement-heavy strategy. Mayor Randall Woodfin addressing city residents at during the National Institute for Criminal ... More Justice Reform's community feedback session. Johnson believes this could unravel local progress. 'Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill will cut healthcare, food and education funding for poor Chicagoans, undermining our efforts to stabilize our neighborhoods to reverse the gains we've made,' he said. Rahman agrees and warns the rollback could lead to a reversal in crime trends nationwide. 'President Trump has actually done a number of things that are likely to actually drive crime rates back-up, with the clearest example being cutting almost $1 billion worth in Department of Justice funding for crime reduction programing,' she said. While Rahman pointed to cuts in crisis response, incarceration alternatives, after-school programs, and community-based mental health care, she believes voters are paying attention. Referencing recent Vera exit polling from the New York mayoral primary, she noted that 75% of Democratic voters preferred investments in 'good schools, jobs, and affordable housing' over a 'tough on crime' approach. While it's too early to gauge the long-term effects of Trump's strategy, one thing is clear: the locally led, community-driven approach adopted by mayors like Johnson, Scott, and Woodfin is working and reshaping what public safety looks like in America.
The Intercept
11-07-2025
- Politics
- The Intercept
Trans People Have Disappeared From ICE Records, Against Congressional Orders
President Donald Trump's administration has vanished another inconvenient fact: the number of transgender people in immigration detention. Immigration and Customs Enforcement quietly stopped reporting how many transgender people it keeps locked up in February, as the total population of immigrants in detention soared and the agency rescinded protections for trans people. The move follows Trump's executive order in January to essentially stop recognizing that trans people exist. According to the nonprofit Vera Institute of Justice, it appears to run afoul of a congressional mandate to report how many transgender and other vulnerable people are being kept in immigration detention. The move has complicated advocates' efforts to keep trans immigrants safe behind bars, where they face a heightened risk of violence and medical neglect. 'It's part and parcel of a larger effort to really erase trans people,' said Bridget Crawford, the director of law and policy for the nonprofit advocacy group Immigration Equality. 'They are not even willing to try to track the trans population, despite the congressional mandate.' Her group released a survey last year finding 'systemic' mistreatment of LGBTQ+ and HIV-positive people in immigration detention. About one third of the respondents reported sexual and physical abuse or harassment, and nearly all reported verbal abuse, including threats of violence. Most said they received inadequate medical care or were denied care outright. 'Advocates and legal service providers rely on these statistics, even though the statistics are limited.' Congress directed the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency of ICE, to report the number of transgender people in detention starting in 2021, according to the Vera Institute. The data that ICE published to its website under former President Joe Biden only gave a breakdown on the number of trans people in broad geographic regions. Still, it showed a climb in the number of people self-identifying as transgender from a handful in 2021 to as many as 60 last year. That number was almost certainly an undercount, experts say, since transgender people are reluctant to divulge their identity to officials for any number of reasons. Nevertheless, it provided advocates with an idea of where to point their resources and helped them pressure ICE to provide more resources. 'Advocates and legal service providers rely on these statistics, even though the statistics themselves are limited,' said Noelle Smart, a researcher for the Vera Institute. Without regular data, there's no way to know for sure if the number of transgender people in ICE detention has risen along with the overall population, but it seems likely, Smart said. 'We know in general that transgender people are more likely to encounter the criminal legal system, which is a major way that people encounter immigration enforcement, through over-policing,' she said. Other politically inconvenient information has also gone missing from ICE's website under Trump. In 2015, when Trump border czar Tom Homan was an agency executive under then-President Barack Obama, he signed a memorandum on care for transgender people in ICE custody. It is no longer available to download. The page that previously hosted the document now pulls up a 'Page Not Found' notice. The memo disappeared from public view in February, shortly after the New York Times published an article on Homan's career that highlighted his creation of it. When Tom Homan worked for ICE under Obama, he signed a memo on care for trans people in custody. It is no longer available. Homan has claimed that he was pressured to sign the memo. ICE did not respond to a request for comment about why the memo is no longer available or whether it remains in effect. The agency has also stripped out language protecting trans people from the contracts for three detention facilities, as The Intercept reported in March. Last month, it deleted references to transgender people from its national detention standards, further alarming advocates. 'The broader context is quite alarming, especially because the vast majority of our clients have very, very strong asylum claims,' Crawford said. 'The vast, overwhelming majority have experienced very high levels of abuse, sexual assault, often torture before they come to the United States.'
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ice arrests of migrants with no criminal history surging under Trump
The federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agency has exponentially increased the arrest and detention of immigrants without any criminal history since the second Trump administration took office, a data analysis by the Guardian shows. The information sharply contradicts Donald Trump's claims the authorities are targeting 'criminals' for deportation as part of his aggressive anti-immigration agenda. According to numbers gathered from Ice and the Vera Institute of Justice, after Trump returned to the White House in late January there was a steep surge in arrests of immigrants, in general. One of the sharpest increases in arrest numbers has been of immigrants with pending charges, who have not yet been convicted of any crimes. But the biggest increase has been people with no charges at all. Between early January, right before the inauguration, and June, there has been an 807% increase in the arrest of immigrants with no criminal record. The Department of Homeland Security and top White House officials continue to claim that Ice is targeting 'criminals' and 'criminal illegal aliens'. But the Ice data shows the agency is not just targeting those with criminal records. Being undocumented in the US is a civil infraction, not a criminal offense. 'The group of people arrested with only immigration violations used to be very, very small,' said Austin Kocher, an assistant research professor at Syracuse University. 'The data reflects the fact that Ice is in the community, arresting an awful lot of people who don't have criminal histories. It doesn't reflect what the agency has claimed they're doing, which is going after the hardened criminals first, which I don't think the data supports.' Ice is certainly arresting people with criminal records, but the administration has not published data on what crimes people have been convicted of. Detailed statistics on arrestees is not available for 2025, but between October 2022 and November 2024, 78% of people arrested by the agency had a misdemeanor conviction or no conviction at all. Only 21% of people over that two year time period had a felony criminal conviction, a Guardian analysis of monthly Ice enforcement and removal operations shows. It is impossible to know how many people arrested since January have a felony criminal conviction because the government has not released that data. The sharpest increase in non-criminal arrests is following a late-May meeting, in which Trump administration officials yelled at top Ice officials, ordering them to arrest more immigrants. During that meeting, DHS secretary Kristi Noem and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller ordered Ice to arrest at least 3,000 people per day, which would be 1 million per year. Trump ran on a campaign of engaging in 'mass deportations' and since he took office his administration has escalated its tactics to meet that goal. As the Guardian reported this month, on 31 May, top Ice managers instructed officers throughout the country to 'turn the creative knob up to 11' to increase arrests. The internal Ice emails reviewed by the Guardian show officers were told to interview and potentially arrest 'collaterals', meaning people coincidentally present during an arrest. In the past, Ice typically targeted immigrants with arrest warrants. Now more people without any criminal history are being swept up in the dragnet. And the Trump White House has ordered an increase in the number of officials engaging in immigration enforcement operations. Special agents from various federal law enforcement agencies – including the FBI, the DEA, the ATF and Homeland Security Investigations – have been delegated to perform immigration enforcement work. There has also been an increase in the number of local jurisdictions deputized by Ice to carry out immigration enforcement work. The increase in immigration arrests has led to a rise in the number of people detained in Ice facilities nationwide. Kocher has been documenting these numbers closely, and tracked that as of 1 June, there were 51,302 people detained in immigration jails – the highest number since 2019. According to Kocher, the Trump administration has increased the number of people in detention so quickly that it is challenging to provide meaningful oversight. 'We know that these facilities are overcrowded, they're over capacity for what they are designed for,' said Kocher. 'Practically speaking, it means people are sleeping on the floor, they may not be getting enough food, they're almost certainly not getting adequate medical care.' In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security told the Guardian that 'since the beginning of President Trump's second term, we have arrested over 236,000 illegal aliens and have deported over 207,000'. However, according to the government's own data, since October, 186,000 people have been booked into immigration detention for the first time. DHS did not respond to follow-up questions regarding the discrepancy between the government data and the numbers the Trump administration is publicizing. Kocher said, in response to the discrepancy in the numbers: 'I think they're being dishonest and un-transparent because they are counting things in ways they have never been counted before to favor their political agenda and the perception they are trying to send to the base.' For advocates, one of the most outrageous steps has been the practice of engaging in arrests at immigration courts around the country. Asylum seekers going through the lengthy legal process of requesting to stay in the US have been targeted by immigration officials. After government attorneys dismiss their cases, Ice officials waiting in hallways or lobbies have arrested asylum seekers. Organizations are challenging the Trump administration's increasing efforts to arrest people at immigration courts. Last week, Innovation Law Lab, a legal organization that represents immigrants in civil rights cases, filed a suit against the Trump administration in Oregon to block the practice of courthouse arrests. On June 11, some Republican members of congress wrote to Ice expressing concern, saying, in part: 'There are levels of priority that must be considered when it comes to immigration enforcement.' The letter was sent to Todd Lyons, acting director of Ice, from Texas representative Tony Gonzales, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Conference, and five other members of the GOP group. 'Every minute that we spend pursuing an individual with a clean record is a minute less that we dedicate to apprehending terrorists or cartel operatives,' the letter said.
The Guardian
14-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ice arrests of migrants with no criminal history surging under Trump
The federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agency has exponentially increased the arrest and detention of immigrants without any criminal history since the second Trump administration took office, a data analysis by the Guardian shows. The information sharply contradicts Donald Trump's claims the authorities are targeting 'criminals' for deportation as part of his aggressive anti-immigration agenda. According to numbers gathered from Ice and the Vera Institute of Justice, after Trump returned to the White House in late January there was a steep surge in arrests of immigrants, in general. One of the sharpest increases in arrest numbers has been of immigrants with pending charges, who have not yet been convicted of any crimes. But the biggest increase has been people with no charges at all. Between early January, right before the inauguration, and June, there has been an 807% increase in the arrest of immigrants with no criminal record. The Department of Homeland Security and top White House officials continue to claim that Ice is targeting 'criminals' and 'criminal illegal aliens'. But the Ice data shows the agency is not just targeting those with criminal records. Being undocumented in the US is a civil infraction, not a criminal offense. 'The group of people arrested with only immigration violations used to be very, very small,' said Austin Kocher, an assistant research professor at Syracuse University. 'The data reflects the fact that Ice is in the community, arresting an awful lot of people who don't have criminal histories. It doesn't reflect what the agency has claimed they're doing, which is going after the hardened criminals first, which I don't think the data supports.' Ice is certainly arresting people with criminal records, but the administration has not published data on what crimes people have been convicted of. Detailed statistics on arrestees is not available for 2025, but between October 2022 and November 2024, 78% of people arrested by the agency had a misdemeanor conviction or no conviction at all. Only 21% of people over that two year time period had a felony criminal conviction, a Guardian analysis of monthly Ice enforcement and removal operations shows. It is impossible to know how many people arrested since January have a felony criminal conviction because the government has not released that data. The sharpest increase in non-criminal arrests is following a late-May meeting, in which Trump administration officials yelled at top Ice officials, ordering them to arrest more immigrants. During that meeting, DHS secretary Kristi Noem and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller ordered Ice to arrest at least 3,000 people per day, which would be 1 million per year. Trump ran on a campaign of engaging in 'mass deportations' and since he took office his administration has escalated its tactics to meet that goal. As the Guardian reported this month, on 31 May, top Ice managers instructed officers throughout the country to 'turn the creative knob up to 11' to increase arrests. The internal Ice emails reviewed by the Guardian show officers were told to interview and potentially arrest 'collaterals', meaning people coincidentally present during an arrest. In the past, Ice typically targeted immigrants with arrest warrants. Now more people without any criminal history are being swept up in the dragnet. And the Trump White House has ordered an increase in the number of officials engaging in immigration enforcement operations. Special agents from various federal law enforcement agencies – including the FBI, the DEA, the ATF and Homeland Security Investigations – have been delegated to perform immigration enforcement work. There has also been an increase in the number of local jurisdictions deputized by Ice to carry out immigration enforcement work. The increase in immigration arrests has led to a rise in the number of people detained in Ice facilities nationwide. Kocher has been documenting these numbers closely, and tracked that as of 1 June, there were 51,302 people detained in immigration jails – the highest number since 2019. According to Kocher, the Trump administration has increased the number of people in detention so quickly that it is challenging to provide meaningful oversight. 'We know that these facilities are overcrowded, they're over capacity for what they are designed for,' said Kocher. 'Practically speaking, it means people are sleeping on the floor, they may not be getting enough food, they're almost certainly not getting adequate medical care.' In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security told the Guardian that 'since the beginning of President Trump's second term, we have arrested over 236,000 illegal aliens and have deported over 207,000'. However, according to the government's own data, since October, 186,000 people have been booked into immigration detention for the first time. DHS did not respond to follow-up questions regarding the discrepancy between the government data and the numbers the Trump administration is publicizing. Kocher said, in response to the discrepancy in the numbers: 'I think they're being dishonest and un-transparent because they are counting things in ways they have never been counted before to favor their political agenda and the perception they are trying to send to the base.' For advocates, one of the most outrageous steps has been the practice of engaging in arrests at immigration courts around the country. Asylum seekers going through the lengthy legal process of requesting to stay in the US have been targeted by immigration officials. After government attorneys dismiss their cases, Ice officials waiting in hallways or lobbies have arrested asylum seekers. Organizations are challenging the Trump administration's increasing efforts to arrest people at immigration courts. Last week, Innovation Law Lab, a legal organization that represents immigrants in civil rights cases, filed a suit against the Trump administration in Oregon to block the practice of courthouse arrests.
Washington Post
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Organizations sue Justice Department to reverse hundreds of grant cancellations
Five organizations that had grants terminated by the Justice Department in April are suing the department and Attorney General Pam Bondi, arguing that the cancellations are unconstitutional and asking that the money be reinstated. The lawsuit, filed late Wednesday by the Vera Institute of Justice, the Center for Children & Youth Justice, Chinese for Affirmative Action, FORCE Detroit and Health Resources in Action, asks a federal judge in the nation's capital to 'declare unlawful, vacate and set aside' the cancellations that were sent to more than 360 awardees ending grants worth nearly $820 million midstream . The lawsuit filed by the Democracy Forward Foundation and the Perry Law firm asks for class action status and also names the Office of Justice Programs and Maureen Henneberg, the acting head of that office, as defendants. The lawsuit argues that the grant terminations did not allow due process to the organizations, lacked sufficient clarity, and that Henneberg's office lacked 'constitutional, statutory, and regulatory authority' to terminate the grants. The lawyers also argue that the move violated the constitutional separation of powers clause that gives Congress appropriation powers. The lawsuit notes that all the grant recipients that had money rescinded received the same form letter announcing the cancellation, with identical words saying the grant programs no longer met the agency's priorities. Lawyers argue in the lawsuit that the new agency priorities noted in the form letter are not articulated in policy or law, and that federal regulations do not allow for cancellations when the agency's priorities change 'post-award.' They said the rule only allows for cancellations of grants that no longer meet the agency's goals as stated when the grants were awarded. The lawsuit says the Office of Justice Programs 'is permitted to terminate an award based on agency priorities only if that basis for termination was specifically permitted by the terms and conditions of the award.' That did not happen, it argues. A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to comment Thursday on the lawsuit. Representatives from Vera said the nonprofit received notice on April 4 that five awards worth more than $7 million were being canceled. The other named plaintiffs, along with hundreds of other groups, received identical notices on April 22 that they should cease any activities under the grants and that they would lose access to the federal funding system. The grants cover a wide swath of programing across the Justice Department. Among other goals, they are for community violence intervention work, combatting hate crimes, providing assistance to crime survivors and survivors of domestic or sexual abuse, improving juvenile justice, and training for law enforcement agencies. The lawsuit says none of the organizations had previously had grants terminated and many had received grants for various programs under both Democratic and Republican presidential administrations. Many of the organizations that lost the federal money said the unexpected cancellations mid-grant had meant layoffs, program closures and loss of community partnerships. In addition to staying the cancellations and reinstating the awards, lawyers also ask a judge to require state reports every 30 days to ensure compliance. 'The sudden and unlawful termination of these public safety grants makes neighborhoods everywhere less safe and does irreparable harm to communities across the country,' said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward.
