States Sue Trump Administration to Block Sharing of Welfare Recipient Data
A 21-state coalition and D.C. challenge a federal rule permitting the sharing of welfare recipients' personal records.
A coalition of 21 states and the District of Columbia filed a federal lawsuit on Monday to block a Trump administration rule that would allow federal officials to share sensitive personal data—including Social Security numbers and immigration status—of millions of low-income welfare recipients with other government agencies and private entities.
The legal action, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, targets a rule finalized by the Administration for Children and Families, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services that oversees the $16 billion Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
State prosecutors contend the rule violates federal privacy protections and turns benefit administrative systems into enforcement tools, risking a chilling effect among eligible families seeking aid. “Instead of helping families struggling with the rising cost of living, this administration is trying to turn antipoverty programs against the people they’re supposed to serve,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.
Created by Congress under 1996 federal welfare legislation, the block grant program provides core funding to states, territories, and tribal governments to distribute financial assistance, job placement assistance, and childcare support. Under federal guidelines, states manage individual participant records and enforce eligibility criteria, which already limit non-citizen access to qualified legal immigrants.
The lawsuit escalates an ongoing legal battle between state attorneys general and federal officials over safety-net administration. Earlier this year, a federal judge barred the administration from withholding block grant funds from several Democratic-led states after federal officials cited media reports to claim state agencies were delivering benefits to undocumented immigrants.
Alongside New York and Washington, D.C., plaintiffs include attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin, as well as the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
The Administration for Children and Families declined to comment on the active litigation on Monday.
