States Challenge New Federal Restrictions on Benefits for Noncitizens, Suing HHS and Other Agencies

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On July 21, a group of 21 state attorneys general four federal agencies challenging new interpretations of an immigration law restricting noncitizens’ access to certain public benefits.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) restricts noncitizen eligibility for “federal public benefits,” including federally funded programs operated by states or other entities. Recently, the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Justice (DOJ), Education, Agriculture, and Labor announced new restrictions under PRWORA that upended decades of settled guidance and rendered noncitizens ineligible for a host of programs that had long been available to them. 

The states’ lawsuit claims the agencies’ PRWORA notices violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the Spending Clause of the Constitution because the agencies (apart from DOJ) did not follow proper procedure before issuing the notices. The suit also claims the notices are arbitrary and capricious, contrary to PRWORA’s statutory requirements, and violate constitutional principles requiring the federal government to inform states of conditions attached to federal funding.

In their complaint, the AGs allege that the new interpretation of PRWORA puts many vital community programs—24/7 crisis hotlines, emergency services for treatment of opioid overdoses, and homeless shelters, among others—at risk, because states cannot immediately verify the immigration status of all participants in those programs.

The states have asked a federal judge in Rhode Island to issue a preliminary injunction to halt enforcement of the new notices.

Led by New York, the plaintiff states include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin, as well as the District of Columbia.

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