Nearly two dozen Democrat-led states have sued the Trump administration over taxpayer-funded benefits being yanked away from illegal aliens.
The lawsuit is being led by attorneys general from Rhode Island, Washington and New York.
Other states joining in the lawsuit are Arizona, California, Colorado Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on February 19, titled, “ENDING TAXPAYER SUBSIDIZATION OF OPEN BORDERS.”
The executive order reads, in part:
To prevent taxpayer resources from acting as a magnet and fueling illegal immigration to the United States, and to ensure, to the maximum extent permitted by law, that no taxpayer-funded benefits go to unqualified aliens, the head of each executive department or agency (agency) shall:
(i) identify all federally funded programs administered by the agency that currently permit illegal aliens to obtain any cash or non-cash public benefit, and, consistent with applicable law, take all appropriate actions to align such programs with the purposes of this order and the requirements of applicable Federal law, including the PRWORA;
(ii) ensure, consistent with applicable law, that Federal payments to States and localities do not, by design or effect, facilitate the subsidization or promotion of illegal immigration, or abet so-called “sanctuary” policies that seek to shield illegal aliens from deportation; and
(iii) enhance eligibility verification systems, to the maximum extent possible, to ensure that taxpayer-funded benefits exclude any ineligible alien who entered the United States illegally or is otherwise unlawfully present in the United States.
On July 10, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released a document clarifying that illegal aliens do not qualify for taxpayer funded public benefits, such as:
(32) Title X Family Planning Program; (33) Head Start; (34) Title IV-E Educational and Training Voucher Program; (35) Community Services Block Grant (CSBG); (36) Health Center Program; (37) Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant; (38) Community Mental Health Services Block Grant; (39) Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness Grant Program; (40) Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics; (41) Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Treatment, Prevention, and Recovery Support Services Programs administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration not otherwise covered under (37)- (40), above (42) Title IV-E Prevention Services Program; (43) Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program; (44) Health Workforce Programs not otherwise covered under “(10) Health Profession Education and Training Assistance”
Democrats are fuming over the taxpayer-funded benefits being cut from illegal aliens.
From Axios: Democratic attorneys general from 20 states and D.C. are suing the Trump administration over a policy change that restricted undocumented immigrants’ access to community health centers, Head Start and other services they’ve used for decades.
The big picture: The AGs argue the changes put key social safety net programs at risk of closing.
“Many programs cannot realistically conduct verification at the door, such as 24/7 crisis hotlines, emergency services for individuals suffering an overdose, and homeless shelters,” the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island states.
If the programs could verify status, many people who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents wouldn’t be able to produce government ID, the AGs note.
The lawsuit alleges that the Trump administration violated administrative law when it changed a longstanding interpretation of a Clinton-era law addressing which federal programs could and couldn’t serve undocumented immigrants.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of the Democrats leading the lawsuit, is raging over the crackdown by the Trump administration. A press release from James’s office reads:
New York Attorney General Letitia James today led a coalition of 20 other attorneys general in suing the federal administration to stop its unlawful attempt to gut lifesaving health, education, and social service programs for low-income families. Earlier this month, in a chaotic reversal of decades of agency policy, the administration issued sweeping new directives barring many safety net programs from serving all residents, regardless of immigration status.
The changes threaten access to core services such as Head Start, Meals on Wheels, child welfare programs, domestic violence shelters, housing assistance, mental health treatment, food banks, and community health centers. Attorney General James and the coalition are asking the court to halt these policies and act quickly to prevent the collapse of some of the nation’s most vital public programs.
James fumed over the new policy in a CNN interview this week:
The federal government is gutting critical social services such as Head Start, Title X family planning, domestic violence shelters and so much more.
I joined CNN earlier to talk about how we’re taking on this baseless attack: pic.twitter.com/Xg14kbymvz
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) July 22, 2025
The administration’s new federal rules are extreme and unworkable. The fallout will hit everyone.
Providers are being asked to verify immigration status overnight, or lose funding. Many can’t comply and will be forced to shut down.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) July 21, 2025
This is why America voted for @realDonaldTrump!
Major move today Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders https://t.co/cdeKXxB3wT
— Rep. Darrell Issa (@repdarrellissa) July 10, 2025
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