MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) has joined a coalition in suing the Trump administration over unlawful policy changes that would give the administration broad access to the sensitive private information 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 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 attempt to share millions of people’s data and implement new monitoring of states’ TANF programs violates the law and Constitution, and is a blatant effort to politically target those who are lawfully receiving critical TANF benefits.

“The Trump administration is yet again trying to get its hands on people’s sensitive personal information that it’s not entitled to,” said AG Kaul. “We must protect this information—including from an overreaching federal government.”

TANF funds support childcare subsidies, emergency housing for families fleeing domestic violence, emergency food assistance, support for grandparents caring for children, and other services critical to fighting poverty.

In Wisconsin, between 11,000-12,000 families receive TANF assistance each year.

The law enacting TANF specifically requires states, not the federal government, to be responsible for verifying TANF applicants’ eligibility for benefits. Yet ACF now claims the agency has broad authority to oversee states’ TANF programs and share recipients’ private data with other federal agencies to double check their immigration status. The coalition argues 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 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, potentially 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 coalition seeks a court order declaring ACF’s policy illegal and preventing it from being implemented.

Joining Wisconsin DOJ 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, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia, as well as the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.