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The US Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has issued a new legal opinion on immigration, stating that states participating in federal assistance programmes must ensure all government agencies report individuals known to be unlawfully present in the United States to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The opinion affects states involved in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programmes, requiring not only agencies that administer those benefits but all state government entities to share relevant information with federal immigration authorities.
Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel said the requirement was clearly established by Congress.
“Congress wrote this requirement plainly,” Gaiser said. “When a state chooses to participate in TANF, it accepts the obligation to report illegal aliens in the United States.” He added that public funds designed to support vulnerable Americans should not conflict with immigration enforcement efforts.
“Tax dollars intended to help vulnerable Americans should not perversely encourage illegal entry into the United States, but rather should reinforce our laws and our borders,” he said.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joshua Craddock, who authored the opinion, said the decision does not create new responsibilities for states but restores what he described as the original interpretation of existing law.
“Our clarification does not impose new obligations on states,” Craddock said. “It simply restores the original meaning of the statute Congress enacted and ensures that DHS receives the information it is legally entitled to.”
The opinion replaces a 1998 interpretation issued during the Clinton administration, which limited the reporting requirement to only the state agencies directly responsible for TANF and SSI benefits.
According to the Justice Department, all 50 states, the District of Columbia and several US territories currently participate in TANF and SSI programmes, with federal TANF funding exceeding $16.4 billion annually.
The OLC said its latest interpretation is based on Congress’s broad definition of “State” under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Under the new guidance, states accepting federal funding must ensure compliance across their government agencies.
The ruling applies going forward, meaning states will not face penalties for actions taken under the 1998 interpretation. Federal agencies may now update TANF and SSI agreements and compliance procedures to reflect the revised legal standard.
