Any U.S. state accepting federal money through low-income support programs must now report undocumented immigrants across its entire government, under a legal opinion issued by the Justice Department on Tuesday. The opinion reverses a policy in place for nearly 30 years.
The Office of Legal Counsel directed the requirement at states receiving funds through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), two programs that support low-income Americans. States that decline to comply risk losing that federal funding.
The change broadens the reporting obligation well beyond its previous scope. Earlier practice limited reporting to the specific welfare office administering a given program. The new opinion extends the duty to every agency within a state government that touches the relevant federal money.
TANF provides cash assistance to low-income families, while SSI supports elderly and disabled people with limited income. Both are administered by states but funded in part by the federal government, giving Washington leverage over how states handle immigration data tied to those dollars.
The opinion places state governments in a direct choice between preserving federal welfare funding and maintaining existing limits on information-sharing with the Department of Homeland Security. Several states have previously restricted cooperation between welfare offices and federal immigration authorities.
The directive is the latest measure in a wider federal push on immigration enforcement that has drawn legal challenges. Earlier federal actions tied to the immigration crackdown have prompted disputes over costs and the handling of minors.
Legal experts expect states that resist the requirement to contest it in court, arguing that the federal government cannot condition welfare funding on expanded reporting. The opinion does not itself carry the force of a statute, but it sets the Justice Department’s interpretation of federal law.
The reach of the requirement remains unclear pending further guidance on which state agencies fall under the expanded obligation.