New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin today joined a coalition of 20 other attorneys general in suing the federal administration to stop its unlawful attempt to restrict access to critical health, education, and workers’ programs. Earlier this month, in a chaotic reversal of agency policy, the administration issued notices prohibiting these programs from serving all residents regardless of immigration status. The change threatens access to critical services like Head Start, Title X family planning, adult education, mental health care, and Community Health Centers. Attorney General Platkin and the coalition are asking the court to halt the new federal rules and act quickly to ensure continued access to some of the nation’s most crucial social services programs.
“The Trump Administration’s attempt to block our residents from accessing Head Start, community health centers, anti-poverty clinics, and other critical programs is as illegal as it is immoral and reckless,” said Attorney General Platkin. “While purporting to stop undocumented immigrants from accessing these programs, this last-minute rule change will prevent American citizens, legal permanent residents, and visa holders from receiving services that are funded by Congress. We look forward to vigorously fighting this unlawful action in court.”
Starting on July 10, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Education (ED), Labor (DOL), and Justice (DOJ) issued a coordinated set of rules that suddenly reinterpret the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). The agencies’ new interpretation restricts states from using federal funds to provide services to individuals who cannot verify immigration status – a major shift from decades-long federal practice under both Republican and Democratic administrations. The rules took effect immediately or with minimal notice and affect not only undocumented immigrants, but also some lawful visa holders and, in practice, even U.S. citizens who lack access to formal documentation.
These new directives are already causing major disruptions. Because the HHS, ED, and DOL rules took effect last week, state programs are now expected to comply immediately, despite having no infrastructure in place to do so. Most providers cannot implement dramatic regulatory changes overnight and, as a result, they now face loss of federal funding. Many crucial state programs – including Head Start, Title X Clinics, community health centers, anti-poverty resources, adult education programs, and critical mental health and substance use services – must now institute immigration verification measures, which some providers warn they will not be able to institute, and thus risk closure.
In New Jersey, affected programs include community mental health clinics and substance-abuse prevention and treatment programs; programs that help kids, including Head Start, career and technical education funding for students, and youth job development programs; and community organizations that serve those in crisis – such as domestic violence intervention programs and soup kitchens.
These programs serve broad populations, including U.S. citizens, lawful residents, and new immigrants, and are not designed to collect or verify immigration status. Providers warn that the new rules could deter people from seeking help, lead to service cutoffs, and destabilize systems already stretched thin. Many of these programs, which prevent the spread of communicable disease or promote economic development, exist for the benefit and protection of the broader community, which will be harmed by the effects of the new guidance.
The lawsuit argues that the federal government acted unlawfully by issuing these changes without following required procedures under the Administrative Procedure Act, and by misapplying PRWORA to entire programs rather than to individual benefits. The changes also violate the Constitution’s Spending Clause by imposing new funding conditions on states without fair notice or consent.
The coalition is asking the court to declare the new rules unlawful, halt their implementation through preliminary and permanent injunctions, vacate the rules and restore the long-standing agency practice, and prevent the federal government from using PRWORA as a pretext to dismantle core safety net programs in the future.
Joining Attorney General Platkin in filing this lawsuit, which was led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
