Illinois is one of 20 states now suing the Trump administration for withholding grant money for crime victims. New U.S. Department of Justice rules tie funding to immigration enforcement.

In Illinois, $54 million goes to provide services for crime victims. But now, the Department of Justice is requiring states to assist with immigration enforcement in order to get that money.

Teaching kids difficult but incredibly important lessons about consent, healthy relationships, and boundaries. YWCA staff like Alejandro Lopez-Reyes help sexual assault survivors and other victims of crime that they work with to apply for important grant dollars.

"I just feel very sad that this is now one less avenue for healing that is accessible. And with sexual violence survivors, sexual assault survivors, that sense of isolation is already very profound, very deep," Lopez-Reyes said. "No matter where you're at, it's important to feel safe and be around people who make you feel safe."

Megan Rodgers, who handles advocacy and crisis intervention with the YWCA South Suburban Center, says funding covers things like medical care, counseling services, funeral costs, lost wages and more.

"Without these funds, survivors might not actually access those services. The money itself could be the difference between accessing them and going without," Rodgers said.

Rodgers and her YWCA team respond in person to local hospitals and emergency rooms to assist survivors of sexual assault. A childhood sexual abuse survivor herself, Rodgers says it's help she didn't get.

She says in the last fiscal year, they've assisted over 1,000 survivors apply for these funds, which is why she was horrified to learn that next year's funding is up in the air over Illinois's sanctuary state status.

"If we have to reduce the number of hospitals we're serving, we're leaving out survivors entirely," she said.

Illinois' Attorney General Kwame Raoul is now one of 20 state attorneys general suing the U.S. Department of Justice over the funding caveat, saying in a statement: "The Trump administration's imposition of illegal conditions on this funding is not only unlawful; it is immoral and it undermines public safety."

Rodgers and Lopez-Reyes say they want Illinois residents to know what's at stake.

"When we alleviate a lot of stress and pressure on the people on the margins. It really does benefit everybody," Lopez-Reyes said.

The lawsuit was filed on Monday, but so far, the U.S. Department of Justice has not filed a response.  The funding decisions are expected to be announced by Sept. 30.