The Trump Justice Department is closing a decades-old loophole involving illegal immigrants and welfare programs.
A new legal opinion released Wednesday says states participating in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) must report known illegal immigrants to federal immigration authorities.
The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel simultaneously withdrew a Clinton-era interpretation that limited the reporting obligation to the welfare programs themselves.
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“Congress wrote this requirement plainly,” Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser said.
“When a state chooses to participate in TANF, it accepts the obligation to report illegal aliens in the United States.”
The change applies going forward and will not be enforced retroactively.
Every state, Washington, D.C., and several U.S. territories participate in TANF and SSI. Federal TANF grants alone exceed $16.4 billion annually.
“Tax dollars intended to help vulnerable Americans should not perversely encourage illegal entry into the United States,” Gaiser said, “but rather should reinforce our laws and our borders.”
More over at Just The News:
In historic shift, DOJ rules all states with federal welfare programs must report illegal immigrants https://t.co/sisBPer2jk
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) September 3, 2026
