Catholic Law's Professor Mary Graw Leary recently authored an op-ed published in The Hill titled "Victimized twice: Trump’s DOJ cuts crime victim grants." The piece highlights the Justice Department's budget cuts, which impact essential grants that provide services and support to crime victims. Professor Leary delves into the history of such funding, noting that even the fiscally conservative Reagan administration in 1982 recognized the importance of federal funding. At the time, Congress was urged to support federal, state, local, and non-profit victim assistance programs to ensure comprehensive support for all crime victims.

Read the full op-ed here.

The Hill
Date: 05/11/25
By: Mary Graw Leary
Victimized twice: Trump’s DOJ cuts crime victim grants

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Locally, many grassroots organizations rely on such grants to serve people in immediate need. These include programs such as the “Emmett Till cold case investigations and prosecution program” in New Orleans and a program that serves human trafficking victims in Virginia — both of which the Department of Justice cut. These organizations do tremendous work, but this funding has never been an adequate amount to make victims whole.

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