The US Department of Justice has ordered states to expand how they report undocumented immigrants to the federal government. This directive, based on a legal opinion issued on Tuesday, reverses a policy that had been in place for nearly 30 years.
Under the new opinion from the department’s office of legal counsel, any state receiving federal money through support schemes for low-income Americans, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), must now report undocumented immigrants across its entire state government. Previously, this reporting was confined to the specific welfare office managing the program.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joshua Craddock, who authored the new opinion, stated that the earlier 1998 interpretation, issued during the Clinton administration, was based on flawed legal reasoning. Assistant Attorney General T Elliot Gaiser defended the reinterpretation, stating that states participating in TANF accept the obligation to report undocumented individuals.
The new policy will not be applied retroactively. States that object to the requirement are able to withdraw from the programs.