Published on Monday, August 03, 2026
Attorney General Peter F. Neronha today joined a coalition of 23 attorneys general and two governors in suing the Trump Administration over unlawful policy changes which would give the administration broad access to the sensitive private information of millions of families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits.
“Americans are universally concerned about sensitive personal information getting into the wrong hands, and unfortunately, in 2026, the wrong hands belong to the Trump Administration,” said Attorney General Neronha. “Once again, the President is attempting to unlawfully gain access to sensitive data including social security numbers, addresses, and more. Here, beneficiaries of TANF benefits are low-income families in need of emergency housing, victims of domestic abuse, and others, all of whom would potentially have their personal information shared across the federal government and possibly with private companies under this change. It is the responsibility of the states to determine eligibility for this program, not the federal government, and the Trump Administration will learn this the hard way when we see them in court.”
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 like the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 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. The coalition argues that ACF’s unlawful attempt to share the personal data of millions of recipients and implement new monitoring of states’ TANF programs are blatant efforts to politically target those who are lawfully receiving critical TANF benefits.
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 assist 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, making TANF one of the largest sources of direct assistance to low-income families and a crucial part of states’ efforts to fight poverty.
The law enacting TANF specifically requires states, not the federal government, to verify TANF applicants’ eligibility for benefits, and yet now ACF claims the agency has broad authority to oversee states’ TANF programs and share recipients’ private data with other federal agencies. The coalition argues that this policy would cause significant harm to 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. ACF’s policy could also lead to unlawful oversight requirements from the federal government – diverting resources that should be used on critical programs to help low-income families.
The coalition argues 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 Neronha in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, as well as the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
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