States now must report undocumented immigrants to DHS or risk federal funding, DOJ says
The opinion broadens reporting duties to every state agency and threatens billions in federal welfare funding if states do not comply, officials said.
- On Wednesday, the Justice Department issued a new legal opinion requiring all state agencies to report known undocumented immigrants to the Department of Homeland Security if states accept federal welfare funding, threatening to withhold federal aid for noncompliance.
- Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joshua Craddock withdrew a 1998 Office of Legal Counsel opinion, arguing it improperly narrowed the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act by limiting reporting to agencies administering welfare programs.
- The mandate now extends to all state bodies, including universities and departments of motor vehicles, protecting federal grants exceeding $16.4 billion in annual TANF funding and $60 billion in SSI benefits.
- Democratic-Led states are expected to challenge the mandate, having previously sued to block federal access to welfare recipient data, setting the stage for litigation over the scope of federal authority to compel state cooperation.
- This shift aligns with President Donald Trump's broader immigration crackdown, which has involved deploying agents to cities and penalizing states limiting cooperation with federal authorities, marking significant escalation in enforcement through funding conditions.
101 Articles
101 Articles
Trump DOJ threatens to 'starve poor kids' in states refusing DHS crackdown: ex-official
A former Department of Homeland Security official accused the Justice Department of threatening to "starve poor kids" to force states into mass deportations.In a Thursday article for the Defiance Substack, former Trump DHS chief of staff Miles Taylor warned that the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel iss...
The Dallas Express News
wbap.comDOJ: Every Texas State Agency Must Report Known Illegal Aliens To DHS
Every Texas state agency must report illegal aliens it knows are unlawfully present in the United States to the Department of Homeland Security under a new Justice Department legal opinion that reverses a 28-year-old federal interpretation of welfare law. The Office of Legal Counsel issued the 19-page opinion Tuesday, and DOJ announced it Wednesday. It […]
The US Department of Justice has threatened states that do not report illegal immigrants that they could lose billions of dollars from social assistance funds, shows a legal opinion consulted by the agency Reuters, quotes Agerpres. The Legal Office of the Department of Justice states that states that receive funding from two vital social assistance funds must ...
New DOJ Immigration Opinion Could Put Maine’s Noncitizen Benefit Policies on Collision Course With Trump Administration
A new legal opinion from the U.S. Department of Justice could have significant consequences for Maine, where state officials have maintained policies limiting when information about undocumented immigrants receiving public benefits is shared with federal immigration authorities. The Justice Department announced Wednesday that its Office of Legal Counsel has reversed a nearly three-decade-old interpretation of [...]
DOJ threatens payment for welfare programs
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department warned that states risk losing billions of dollars in welfare funds if they do not report all immigrants known to state agencies who are in the country illegally, according to a legal opinion released Wednesday.
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