AG Nessel Sues Trump Administration to Protect Michigan Residents’ Personal Information

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a coalition of 23 other states and the District of Columbia in suing the Trump administration over unlawful policy changes that would give the administration broad access to the sensitive private information (PDF) of millions of families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits. 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. Attorney General Nessel 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 Constitution and statute, and is an effort to politically target those who are lawfully receiving critical TANF benefits.

“Weaponizing federal funds to push a political agenda, with no regard for the tens of thousands of Michigan children caught in the crosshairs, is not only shameful but unlawful,” said Attorney General Nessel. “I will continue to defend Michiganders from these blatant privacy violations and ensure essential safety-net funds remain protected.”

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 more than $16 billion every year to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and several territories and tribal governments for these programs. As Attorney General Nessel 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. In Michigan, TANF primarily supports the Family Independence Program, which provides essential cash assistance to nearly 10,000 low-income families, including approximately 20,000 children, every month.

The law enacting TANF specifically makes states, not the federal government, responsible for verifying TANF applicants’ eligibility for benefits. Yet ACF now claims broad authority to oversee states’ TANF programs and share recipients’ private data with other federal agencies to double check their immigration status. Attorney General Nessel 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 the 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.

Attorney General Nessel 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 Nessel in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai'i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, 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.

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