States sue Trump administration to protect welfare data from DHS
· UPIAug. 3 (UPI) -- A coalition of 24 Democratic states on Monday sued the Trump administration to prevent immigration authorities from accessing private data from millions of families receiving anti-poverty aid.
Administration officials in June sent a notice to states expanding federal oversight of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
The notice would allow the Administration for Children and Families to share detailed personal information from benefit recipients with other federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security.
"The Trump Administration has tried time and again to weaponize every aspect of government as part of their reckless immigration enforcement efforts," New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a statement.
"Now, they want to misuse a program intended to help vulnerable families and children as a tool for harassing immigrants," added Davenport, who joined the lawsuit. "Federal law sets clear limits on the sharing of sensitive personal data, but the administration would obliterate those guardrails and violate the privacy of families that are just trying to make ends meet."
Congress created TANF in 1996 to provide states with funding to provide assistance to low-income families with children.
The program provides $16 billion to states and tribal governments, which in turn administer the funds.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the federal effort is "cruel, unnecessary and illegal."
"While the Trump Administration continues to break the law in order to amass an ever-greater trove of people's personal information, we'll continue stepping in to protect the privacy of our people," Bonta said in a statement. "You have my word."
The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to access data from welfare recipients to share with immigration agents, Politico reported.
Federal officials say the efforts are necessary to prevent undocumented immigrants from receiving such benefits, for which they are not eligible.
The lawsuit was filed by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.