Illinois attorney general claims victory in lawsuit against Trump
administration
[September 23, 2026]
By Peter Hancock
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has claimed victory
in a legal battle against the Trump administration over noncitizens’
access to a host of publicly funded health, education and social service
programs.
A federal judge in Rhode Island on Monday struck down the
administration’s attempt to require states to verify a person’s
citizenship or lawful immigration status before allowing them to access
services such as Head Start, mental health crisis programs, homeless
shelters and many other programs.
The lawsuit challenged the administration’s attempt to expand the
application of a three decades-old law known as the Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, the
signature welfare reform law of the Clinton administration.
Among other things, that law prohibits certain categories of noncitizens
from receiving federal benefits such as Medicaid and Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families, or TANF. After the law was enacted,
federal agencies issued guidance to states interpreting the law to
exclude vital community services that were open to all.
But soon after taking office for his second term in 2025, President
Donald Trump issued an executive order titled “Ending Taxpayer
Subsidization of Open Borders” that directed federal agencies to realign
their programs to “prevent taxpayer resources from acting as a magnet
and fueling illegal immigration to the United States.”
In July 2025, several federal agencies issued notices that they were
changing their interpretation of the 1996 law.
The Department of Justice, for example, announced it was revoking
exceptions it had previously allowed for programs deemed necessary for
the protection of life and safety, including crisis counseling and
intervention programs, child protection services, violence and abuse
prevention, and services for domestic violence victims.
The Department of Health and Human Services reversed its policy that
excluded Head Start and certain public health programs from the
verification requirement.
Other agencies that expanded the requirement to verify lawful status to
qualify for benefits included the Department of Education, Department of
Labor and Department of Housing and Urban Development.
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The Illinois Attorney General’s office in Springfield. (Capitol News
Illinois file photo)
Illinois, along with a coalition of 21 other Democratic state attorneys
general, filed suit challenging the new rules. Among other things, they
argued the change in interpretation violated the Administrative
Procedures Act, which requires agencies to publish notice and take
public comment before enacting new administrative rules.
In September 2025, Judge Mary S. McElroy, a Trump appointee, issued a
preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of what she called a “Show
me your papers” policy.
“If the Government’s plan goes into effect, immigration verification
will be necessary for individuals to access emergency services for
domestic violence victims and veterans, homeless shelters, soup
kitchens, mental health crisis programs, and plenty more.” McElroy
wrote.
On Monday, she granted the plaintiff states’ motion for summary judgment
declaring the agency notices “unlawful” and blocking the agencies from
enforcing them.
The order did not, however, prohibit the agencies from promulgating new
rules if they go through the proper administrative process, including
public notice and comment.
“I am proud to have secured this legal victory protecting some of our
most crucial social service programs,” Raoul said in a statement. “I
will continue to oppose arbitrary and illegal actions by the Trump
administration and will use all the tools at my disposal to fight
unlawful orders.”
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government
coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick
Foundation.
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