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In June 2026, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) issued a notice claiming to dramatically expand its oversight of state TANF programs, including by allowing ACF to share detailed records on TANF recipients with other federal agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Under ACF’s new policy, TANF recipients’ Social Security numbers, addresses, immigration status, and other sensitive personal data would be illegally shared across the federal government and even potentially with private organizations. Attorney General Davenport and the coalition argue that ACF’s attempt to share millions of people’s data and implement new monitoring of states’ TANF programs violates the law and Constitution, and is a blatant effort to politically target those who are lawfully receiving critical TANF benefits.

“The Trump Administration has tried time and again to weaponize every aspect of government as part of their reckless immigration enforcement efforts. Now, they want to misuse a program intended to help vulnerable families and children as a tool for harassing immigrants,” said Attorney General Davenport. “Federal law sets clear limits on the sharing of sensitive personal data, but the Administration would obliterate those guardrails and violate the privacy of families that are just trying to make ends meet.”

Congress created TANF as part of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996. The law requires the federal government to provide block grants to states, territories, and tribal governments, which then have broad authority to use the funds for a variety of programs to provide assistance to low-income families with children. TANF funds support childcare subsidies, emergency housing for families fleeing domestic violence, emergency food assistance, support for grandparents caring for children, and other critical services. TANF currently provides over $16 billion every year to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and several territories and tribal governments for these programs. As Attorney General Davenport and the coalition assert in their lawsuit, it is one of the largest sources of direct assistance to low-income families and a crucial part of states’ efforts to fight poverty.

The TANF program, known here as Work First New Jersey, is providing a $540 million block grant in the State’s Fiscal 2027 budget. As of April 2026, the program assisted more than 24,000 New Jerseyans.

The law enacting TANF specifically requires states, not the federal government, to be responsible for verifying TANF applicants’ eligibility for benefits. Yet ACF now claims the agency has broad authority to oversee states’ TANF programs and share recipients’ private data with other federal agencies to double check their immigration status. Attorney General Davenport and the coalition argue that this policy would cause significant harm to the vulnerable communities that rely on TANF funds.

Allowing TANF recipients’ private data to be illegally shared across the federal government would erode trust that states’ TANF programs have built with immigrant communities and deter those legally qualified to receive benefits from seeking out assistance.

Attorney General Davenport and the coalition argue that ACF’s new policy violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution by ignoring restrictions on data sharing in TANF programs and enacting arbitrary new conditions on federal funding. The lawsuit seeks a court order declaring ACF’s policy illegal and preventing it from being implemented.

Joining Attorney General Davenport in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, as well as the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.