Democrat State, Groups Sue Over Sharing Of Benefits Data With Immigration

Why would they care? They keep telling us that illegals do not get benefits

States, groups sue over Trump policy of sharing benefits data with immigration authorities

Several Democratic-led U.S. states and advocacy groups sued the Trump administration on Monday to ?block a new policy allowing federal immigration authorities to receive information about low-income families with children enrolled in a cash-assistance program.

The two lawsuits, opens new tab marked the latest in a series of legal battles over efforts by the administration to give immigration officials access to sensitive personal data on ?millions of people held by other government agencies.

“The Trump administration is exploiting a program designed to ensure ?children do not go hungry and to help needy families get back on their feet ?in order to fuel its mass surveillance effort,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, said in a ?statement.

Both cases take aim at a move announced in June by the Administration for Children and Families, a division of ?the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to allow it to share with other agencies records on families receiving benefits from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

The federally funded, state-administered program provides over $16 billion annually to states to provide assistance to low-income ?families with children, including cash payments.

So, what’s the big deal? Illegals aren’t receiving benefits, right? Might these states and groups be using the fund fraudulently? Maybe siphoning a bit too much money off rather than using it for the intended purpose?

The states, in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington, said that the ?law enacting TANF specifically put states, and not the federal government, in charge of verifying applicants’ eligibility for benefits.

Yet the states ?said the ?Administration for Children and Families is now claiming it has broad authority to oversee their TANF programs and share benefit recipients’ data with other agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and check their immigration status, potentially deterring those legally qualified to receive benefits from applying.

The data-sharing policy is set to take effect on August 11.

Are they verifying? Los Federales do have the obligation to provide oversight for any money dispersed from the federal treasury.