States sue White House over citizenship requirements for low-income federal assistance

(CN) — New York Attorney General Letitia James is leading a coalition of 20 states and the District of Columbia in suing the Trump administration over new requirements that, she claims, could gut a variety of programs for low-income families.

In their lawsuit, filed Monday in Rhode Island federal court, the states claim that an executive order from President Donald Trump unlawfully strips immigrants — and potentially many United States citizens — of access to federal services like Head Start, public health programs and food banks.

Trump signed the scrutinized order on February 19. Titled “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders,” the order redefines many federal programs as restricted “federal public benefits,” now subject to immigration verification.

“Chaos has predictably followed,” the states claim in their 50-page complaint. “Almost overnight, states and their subgrantees faced the threat of enforcement if they could not dramatically restructure crucial components of their social safety nets to comply with defendants’ new dictates.”

Not only could the policies cut immigrants without legal status off of the programs, the states warn, but they could also affect student visa holders, temporary workers, exchange visitors and other people with legal status.

The coalition claims that they may even affect United States citizens, as many lack the government-issued identification required to comply with Trump’s order.

“The hungry have never needed to produce government identification to enter a soup kitchen or food bank,” the states argue. “Parents have never needed to produce their children’s citizenship or immigration records before enrolling them in Head Start; those suffering from substance abuse disorders have never needed to bring their passports to a rehabilitation clinic; people facing homelessness or domestic violence have never needed proof of immigration status to walk into a shelter.”

As a result, the states say that many of their low-income residents may be dissuaded from using these programs.

The states target several executive branch departments and their heads in the Monday lawsuit, including the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education and the Department of Labor.

It’s the latest in dozens of lawsuits against the federal government, as Trump continues to test the limits of executive power with unprecedented cuts and changes to longstanding federal programs.

“For decades, states like New York have built health, education, and family support systems that serve anyone in need,” Attorney General James said in a statement Monday. “These programs work because they are open, accessible, and grounded in compassion.”

“Now, the federal government is pulling that foundation out from under us overnight, jeopardizing cancer screenings, early childhood education, primary care, and so much more,” James added. “This is a baseless attack on some of our country’s most effective and inclusive public programs, and we will not let it stand.”

The states worry that by adding this new bar to services already strapped for cash, many programs may struggle to meet the requirements and be forced to fold.

“The new rules put the states’ community programs to the impossible choice between shutting their doors or risking an immediate cutoff in federal funding,” the states argue.

In New York, James claims that the fallout from Trump’s new policies are “especially alarming.”

She argues that many community health centers, which provide care to 2.4 million residents statewide, may be forced to close without federal funding for treating patients whose immigration status cannot be verified. Similarly, far fewer New Yorkers will have access to behavioral health services and anti-poverty services like food distribution for low-income residents.

And programs like Head Start, James warns, are already financially fragile and may be unable to function with the added task of immigration screening.

The states are seeking an injunction to find Trump’s new rules unlawful and halt their implementation, as well as to prevent his administration from targeting social programs this way in the future.

In addition to New York, attorney generals from Washington, Rhode Island, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Wisconsin joined the complaint.

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