{"id":2653696,"date":"2026-09-02T16:28:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T20:28:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigndoj-tells-sanctuary-states-they-must-report-illegals-to-get-federal-welfare\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T16:29:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T20:29:47","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigndoj-tells-sanctuary-states-they-must-report-illegals-to-get-federal-welfare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigndoj-tells-sanctuary-states-they-must-report-illegals-to-get-federal-welfare\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ Tells States They Must Report Illegals To Get Federal Welfare"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigndoj-tells-sanctuary-states-they-must-report-illegals-to-get-federal-welfare%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2653696&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Teh department of Justice\u2019s Office of Legal counsel (OLC) issued an opinion clarifying that all states participating in federal food assistance and Social Security programs are mandated to report the presence of known illegal immigrants to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This requirement applies to programs like TANF and SSI and extends to all state agencies involved, not just specific ones, in accordance with a 1996 welfare reform law. The opinion, which overrides a 1998 interpretation from the Clinton governance, emphasizes that states accepting these federal funds must cooperate in reporting illegal aliens. States refusing compliance could risk losing program funding, though retroactive penalties are not expected. this move aims to facilitate immigration enforcement and aligns with efforts to address welfare fraud, especially by illegal immigrants, amid ongoing debates over immigration policy and welfare system abuses.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The Department of Justice\u2019s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) published an opinion Tuesday telling states that if they receive federal food stamp and Social Security assistance, they are required to report the presence of known illegal immigrants to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).<\/p>\n<p>States participating in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs are required to report the presence of illegals to DHS, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/olc\/media\/1459981\/dl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">opinion<\/a> states. But it is not just the state or local agencies administering those programs that are required to report to DHS, but rather all agencies in the state, per a 1996 welfare reform law.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Justice Department, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and multiple U.S. territories participate in those programs to the tune of $16.4 billion every year. That means states currently claiming to be \u201csanctuaries\u201d for illegal aliens like California, New York, and most recently Virginia, will be forced to hand over the information. That should expedite Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) mass deportation operations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen a state chooses to participate in TANF, it accepts the obligation to report illegal aliens in the United States,\u201d Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser of OLC stated in a Wednesday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/justice-department-clarifies-duty-states-report-known-illegal-aliens-under-welfare-reform\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">press release<\/a>. \u201cTax 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Clinton administration wrote an opinion in 1998 that interpreted that law \u201cnarrowly\u201d only to include the administering state agencies, but the OLC withdrew that opinion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe likewise do not find the concept of congressional acquiescence to be a persuasive reason to cling to the 1998 Opinion\u2019s erroneous statutory interpretation,\u201d the opinion reads. \u201cThe fact that subsequent congresses have not affirmatively corrected the 1998 Opinion\u2019s interpretation of section 404 does not alter the plain meaning of the statute. Indeed, it is constitutionally problematic to equate legislative inaction with action.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>OLC\u2019s Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joshua Craddock, who wrote the opinion, said there are no \u201cnew obligations on states,\u201d but rather that the opinion \u201crestores the original meaning of the statute Congress enacted and ensures that DHS receives the information it is legally entitled to.\u201d States that do not comply risk losing program funding, Craddock added, but the Department of Justice said that states will not face \u201cretroactive penalties\u201d because they relied on the Clinton-era opinion.<\/p>\n<p>As The Federalist <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/09\/08\/deporting-illegal-immigrants-is-not-enough\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, the Clinton administration took numerous actions to pave the way for illegal aliens to come into the country, especially those who offer nothing to American society and were virtually guaranteed to leech off the welfare system.<\/p>\n<p>That included trashing the \u201cpublic charge\u201d rule that had governed American immigration law for at least 100 years, which said that an immigrant should not be admitted into the country if he was unlikely to be able to take care of himself without government assistance.<\/p>\n<p>Now it is <a href=\"https:\/\/cis.org\/Richwine\/Welfare-Consumption-Illegal-Immigrants-Inevitable-Long-Theyre-Here\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">estimated<\/a> that 59 percent of illegal immigrant households are on at least one welfare program, and 52 percent of legal immigrant households are in the same position. Meanwhile, 39 percent of native-born Americans use at least one welfare program, which is still an enormous amount, but the fact remains that the programs are for Americans, not foreigners.<\/p>\n<p>The opinion comes after the Trump administration has placed an intense <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/anti-fraud-task-force\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">focus on welfare fraud<\/a> across the country, particularly fraud committed by illegal aliens or other foreigners. The crackdown has <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/12\/04\/trump-admin-to-stop-food-stamp-payments-to-democrat-states-covering-up-welfare-fraud\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">included<\/a> stopping federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding through the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for states refusing to hand over immigration status data to the federal government. The opinion appears to be another way of doing the same.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Breccan F. Thies is the White House correspondent for The Federalist. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. As an investigative journalist, he previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>States must report illegal immigrants for federal aid programs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":2653697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/54295734800_3aa4deeb9d_k.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[42552,36586,33009,3813,85030],"class_list":["post-2653696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-federal-aid","tag-government-policy","tag-illegal-immigration","tag-immigration","tag-welfare-enforcement"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/54295734800_3aa4deeb9d_k.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2653696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2653696"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2653696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2653699,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2653696\/revisions\/2653699"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2653697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2653696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2653696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2653696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}