California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with a coalition of 20 other attorneys general, filed a lawsuit Monday against the Trump administration over new federal directives that restrict access to certain public benefit programs based on immigration status.
The lawsuit challenges recent policy changes by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, and Justice that implement eligibility guidelines for programs such as Head Start, mental health services, housing assistance, and domestic violence shelters.
The attorneys general argue that the changes reverse decades of federal precedent and could limit access to essential services for undocumented individuals and mixed-status families.
“In 2023-24, California’s 100 direct Head Start regional recipients served over 80,345 children and families at 1,842 individual site locations. The Trump Administration’s new polices, which will require programs to verify immigration status, are expected to have a chilling effect, leading to decreased enrollment from participants and an administrative and financial burden for recipients,” according to Bonta’s office.
However, President Trump and others in his administration have said the restrictions are necessary to protect services for American citizens.
The attorneys general from New York, Washington, Rhode Island, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Wisconsin joined Bonta in the legal action.