A new opinion issued by the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel on Wednesday says states that participate in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs have to report any undocumented immigrants to the Department of Homeland Security.
Each of the 50 states participates in TANF and SSI.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joshua Craddock, who wrote the opinion, said it does not impose new obligations on states.
“It simply restores the original meaning of the statute Congress enacted and ensures that DHS receives the information it is legally entitled to,” Craddock said in the statement. “States that accept TANF funding must abide by federal law, and failure to comply may lead to serious consequences, including loss of program funding.”
Previously, only specific state agencies that gave out TANF or SSI were required to give information to federal immigration authorities.
The DOJ’s legal opinion is expected to face pushback from several states. California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office, in an emailed statement to CNBC, said it is evaluating the opinion.
“The Trump Administration is continuing to try to coerce states into its hateful agenda, this time by attempting to rewrite decades-old law,” the statement said.
Jorge Loweree, a managing director at the American Immigration Council, noted to The Hill that it is the federal government, “and not states, that determines whether someone is lawfully or unlawfully present.”
“This is about instilling fear and creating chaos, likely starving people in the process,” he said.
Round out your reading
- Lawyer says 57 Cornell frat members were in the group chat. Could their silence be a crime?
- Florida county discovers mysterious Flock cameras with no obvious owner.
- Off Script: They won their primaries on one message. Now it’s disappearing.
- Some question whether a popular affordable housing policy is making the nation’s home shortage worse.
- Kelvin wave incoming: Why the US should care.
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