The US Justice Department has informed states that they could potentially lose billions in federal welfare funding if state agencies do not report immigrants who are illegally present in the country, based on a legal opinion released on Wednesday.
The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel stated that states receiving funds from two major welfare programs are required to report individuals unlawfully residing in the US to the Department of Homeland Security.
This new interpretation broadens the reporting obligation beyond just those state agencies responsible for running the federal programs.
Other state entities that may have knowledge about undocumented immigrants, such as universities and departments of motor vehicles, will also be required to comply with this mandate.
“Failure to comply may lead to serious consequences, including loss of program funding,” Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joshua Craddock, who signed the opinion, said in a statement.
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with travel executives in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, September 2, 2026. (credit: REUTERS/EVELYN HOCKSTEIN)
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Trump Administration Pressures States on Immigration Issues
Since taking office again in January 2025, US President Donald Trump has pushed for a wide-ranging immigration enforcement strategy. This includes sending immigration agents to various cities nationwide and increasing collaboration with state and local law enforcement agencies. The administration is also attempting to penalize states that restrict their cooperation with federal immigration officials. The Justice Department’s updated stance might face opposition from states led by Democrats. Several states have already filed lawsuits aimed at blocking DHS from accessing personal data related to recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, one of the programs impacted by this opinion. Courts have previously limited some actions taken by the Trump administration requiring information sharing about immigrants with DHS while allowing other cases where immigration authorities can access certain data like Medicaid information.Significant Federal Welfare Funding Threatened
All 50 states, Washington DC, and several US territories receive funding through both programs mentioned in the opinion: TANF and Supplemental Security Income. Federal TANF grants exceed $16.5 billion every year while federal SSI benefits surpass $60 billion annually. Individuals without legal status cannot qualify for either program. Reuters reached out to eight state attorneys general but did not receive immediate feedback regarding how they plan to respond to the Justice Department’s stance. It’s important to note that this legal opinion is not law itself but does bind federal agencies’ actions. Craddock contended that a regulation issued back in 1998 misinterpreted the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act by viewing “State” solely as specific agencies rather than encompassing state governments overall. State agencies might possess information on millions of undocumented immigrants living within their jurisdictions. At least 19 states along with Washington DC permit undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses while many public universities also accept students without lawful status. self.__next_f. push([1,”0:[“$”,”$L9″, null,{“build Id”:”LL4NCr HIUUd2q Qiux1E3Q”,”asset Prefix”:””,”url Parts”:[“”,”american-politics”,”article-907386″],”initial Tree”:[“”,{“children”:[“(routes-without-sub-menu)”,{“children”:[“articles”,{“children”:[“article”,{“children”:[[“article Id”,”907386″,”d”],{“children”:[“__PAGE__”,{}]}]}]}]}]},”$undefined”,”$undefined”, true],”initial Seed Data”:[“”,{“children”:[“(routes-without-sub-menu)”,{“children”:[“articles”,{“children”:[“article”,{“children”:[[“article Id”,”907386″,”d”],{“children”:[“__PAGE__”,{},[[“$La”,”$Lb”,[[“$”,”link”,”0″,{“rel”:”stylesheet”,”href”:”/_next/static/css/565aaeb7116d9c08. css”,”precedence”:”next”,”cross Origin”:”$undefined”}]]], null], null]},[null,[“$”,”$Lc”, null,{“parallel Router Key”:”children”,”segment Path”:[“children”,”(routes-without-sub-menu)”,”children”,”articles”,”children”,”article”,”children”,$d,”children”],”error”:”$undefined “,”error Styles “:”$undefined “,”error Scripts “:”$undefined “,”template “:[“$”, “$Le “, null ,{} ], “template Styles “:” $undefined “,” template Scripts “:” $undefined “,”not Found “:” $ undefined “,”not Found Styles “:” $ undefined “}]], null ]},[null , [“$”, “$Lc “, null , { “parallel Router Key “: ” children “, “segment Path “: [” children “, “( routes -without -sub -menu ) “, ” children “, ” articles “, ” children “, ” article “, ” children “] ,” error “: “$ undefined “,” error Styles “:” $ undefined “,” error Scripts “:” $ undefined “,” template “: [ “$” ,”$ Le “, null , {} ], “template Styles “:” $ undefined “,” template Scripts “:” $ undefined ,” not Found “: “$ undefined “,” not Found Styles “:” $ undefined “} ] } ], [null , [“$”, “$Lc “, null , { “parallel Router Key “: ” children “) ,” segment Path “: [” children “. “( routes -without -sub -menu )” ,” children “] ,” error “=” $$ ! ndefined:! nndefined} ] } ];”]}],[[ ]]]]; } } ]]; ]], ]])], }} ]], []]]);Source link
