Illinois joins lawsuit challenging federal data-sharing policy for welfare recipients
Published 4:40 pm Monday, August 3, 2026
CHICAGO — Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined a coalition of 23 attorneys general Monday in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration over a policy change that would allow federal officials broader access to personal information belonging to millions of families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, benefits.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court, argues that a June notice issued by the Administration for Children and Families, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, illegally expands the federal government’s oversight of state-run TANF programs and would allow recipients’ Social Security numbers, addresses, immigration status and other sensitive data to be shared across federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, with what the coalition describes as little oversight or restriction.
“Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits are intended to support Illinois’ most vulnerable residents by providing essential assistance during a time of need,” Raoul said in a statement. “However, this new policy change targets individuals who rely on those benefits and allows for the illegal sharing of their personal and private information across federal government agencies without limitations.”
The Administration for Children and Families has defended the policy as necessary to verify TANF recipients’ citizenship and immigration status and to guard against fraud, according to previous statements from the agency reported by other news outlets. The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
Congress created TANF in 1996 as part of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which directs the federal government to provide block grants that states, territories and tribal governments can use for a range of anti-poverty programs, including childcare subsidies, emergency housing assistance and food aid. The program provides more than $16 billion annually nationwide. Illinois receives approximately $583 million in TANF funding each year, assisting more than 65,000 residents, according to the attorney general’s office.
The lawsuit contends that federal law puts states, not the federal government, in charge of verifying TANF applicants’ eligibility, and argues the new policy violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution by disregarding existing data-sharing restrictions and imposing new conditions on federal funding. The coalition is asking a court to declare the policy unlawful and block its implementation.
The lawsuit follows an earlier dispute this year in which the Administration for Children and Families froze TANF funding to several Democratic-led states, an action that was blocked in court.
