Judge Rules DOJ Unlawfully Withheld Anti-Domestic-Violence Grants Over Immigration, 'Gender Ideology' Conditions

U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose in Rhode Island ruled on September 29, 2026, that the Trump administration unlawfully sought to withhold Violence Against Women Act grant funding from more than two dozen domestic-violence and sexual-assault prevention organizations. The grants, run through the Justice Department's Office on Violence Against Women and Office of Justice Programs, had been conditioned on recipients agreeing not to serve undocumented immigrants, not to promote "gender ideology" and to avoid activity the administration deemed contrary to its executive orders. DuBose found the administration had not weighed how losing the funding, or accepting conditions carrying False Claims Act exposure, would affect the groups suing.

VAWA has distributed more than $10 billion to anti-violence programs since 1994. Tying that funding to immigration-enforcement and ideological conditions raises questions about the executive branch rewriting grant terms Congress appropriated.

The plaintiff organizations described the ruling as lasting protection for the funding. It does not resolve similar disputes over other grant programs, and the administration's appeal plans are not stated in available reporting.