Attorney General Dan Rayfield today sued the Trump administration to stop a new policy that would give federal officials access to the private records of millions of individuals who rely on assistance for low-income families. The lawsuit was joined by a coalition of 23 other states, the District of Columbia, and two governors.
“Families turn to these programs because they’re doing everything they can to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table—these programs are a literal lifeline for struggling parents and their kids,” said Attorney General Rayfield. “But the Trump Administration is trying to weaponize these emergency assistance programs, taking families’ private, personal data and using it to advance a partisan political agenda that is tearing communities apart.”
“We’re standing up to stop the federal administration because states have the right to protect critically needed services for families in their time of greatest need,” AG Rayfield added.
“The Trump Administration is yet again illegally trying to intimidate and raise barriers to critical help for vulnerable families,” Governor Tina Kotek said. “Personal data should be protected and should not be wielded as a political hammer to keep parents away from childcare, job training, and basic assistance. We’re unified in doing everything in our power to protect Oregon families.”
The lawsuit centers on a notice the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) issued in June, which claims sweeping new authority to oversee state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs. Under the new policy, ACF could share TANF recipients’ Social Security numbers, home addresses, immigration status, and other sensitive information with other federal agencies – including the Department of Homeland Security – and potentially with private organizations. AG Rayfield and the coalition say that’s illegal, unconstitutional, and a clear attempt to intimidate people who are lawfully receiving help.
TANF has helped low-income families for nearly 30 years. Congress created the program in 1996 to send block grants to states, which then decide how to spend the money on things like childcare, emergency housing for domestic violence survivors, food assistance, and support for grandparents raising grandchildren. Nationally, TANF delivers more than $16 billion a year to all 50 states, D.C., and several tribal governments and territories. Oregon receives approximately $165 million annually in TANF funding and helps approximately 100,000 Oregon residents monthly.
Under the law that created TANF, it’s state governments – not the federal government – that are responsible for verifying who qualifies for benefits. ACF’s new policy tries to sidestep that by claiming broad oversight power and using data sharing to double-check recipients’ immigration status. AG Rayfield and the coalition argue this would do real damage: it would break down the trust states have built with immigrant communities, scare away people who legally qualify for help, and force states to burn resources on federal oversight demands instead of on the families TANF is supposed to serve.
The lawsuit argues ACF’s policy violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution by ignoring existing limits on TANF data sharing and tacking on new, arbitrary conditions to federal funding. The coalition is asking a court to declare the policy illegal and block it from taking effect.
Alongside Attorney General Rayfield in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
