Attorney General Neronha co-leads lawsuit to block new federal restrictions on public benefits
Published on Monday, July 21, 2025
Attorney General Peter F. Neronha today co-led a coalition of 21 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit in the District of Rhode Island against the federal administration to stop its unlawful attempt to restrict access to critical health, education, and social service programs.
Earlier this month, in a reversal of agency policy, the administration issued notices prohibiting state safety net programs from serving all residents, regardless of immigration status. The change threatens access to critical services like Head Start, Title X family planning, adult education, mental health care, and Community Health Centers. The coalition is asking the court to halt the new federal rules and act quickly to ensure continued access to some of the nation’s most crucial social services programs.
“Whether it be haphazardly dissolving important federal agencies or unlawfully withholding federal funding, this President and his Administration have consistently acted in disregard of Americans from all walks of life who depend on the support of their federal government in some way, shape, or form,” said Attorney General Neronha. “Their reinterpretation of longstanding federal benefit policy is no different. By changing the rules with no notice, agencies and organizations that receive federal funding for critical services must quickly pivot or risk shuttering, and the consequences could be dire. For example, if access to mental health and substance use disorder services is lessened or eliminated, already overburdened hospitals across the country could become further overwhelmed. These federal funding streams are critically important to the health and well-being of all Rhode Islanders, as well as our health care system, and we will fight to ensure they remain uninterrupted.”
Starting on July 10, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Education (ED), Labor (DOL), and Justice (DOJ) issued a coordinated set of rules and guidance documents that reinterpret the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). The agencies’ new interpretation restricts states from using federal funds to provide services to individuals who cannot verify immigration status – a major shift from long-standing federal practice under both Republican and Democratic administrations. The rules took effect immediately or with minimal notice and affect not only undocumented immigrants, but also some lawful visa holders and, in practice, even U.S. citizens who lack access to formal documentation.
These new directives are already causing major disruptions. Because the HHS, ED, and DOL rules took effect last week, state programs are now expected to comply immediately, despite having no infrastructure in place to do so. Most providers cannot implement dramatic regulatory changes overnight and, as a result, they now face a dramatic loss of federal funding. Many crucial state programs must now institute immigration verification measures – including Head Start, Title X Clinics, community health centers, anti-poverty resources, adult education programs, and critical mental health and substance use services – but some providers warn that they will not be able to change their practices no matter how much time and money they have to do so and therefore face closure.
Leadership at Rhode Island’s Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals (BHDDH) attests that these new restrictions could impact “tens of millions” of dollars which fund a number of programs related to opioid treatment, homeless services, and mental health programs in all Rhode Island public schools. Further, BHDDH contends that any funding changes to those programs could temporarily or permanently end those services, potentially causing a health care crisis statewide as service recipients flood emergency rooms or hospital-based mental health treatment.
These programs serve broad populations, including U.S. citizens, lawful residents, and new immigrants, and are not designed to collect or verify immigration status. Providers warn that the new rules could deter people from seeking help, lead to service cutoffs, and destabilize systems already stretched thin. Many of these programs, which prevent the spread of communicable disease or promote economic development, exist for the benefit and protection of the broader community, which will be harmed by the effects of the new guidance.
The lawsuit argues that the federal government acted unlawfully by issuing these changes without following required procedures under the Administrative Procedure Act, and by misapplying PRWORA to entire programs rather than to individual benefits. The changes also violate the Constitution’s Spending Clause by imposing new funding conditions on states without fair notice or consent.
The coalition is asking the court to declare the new rules unlawful, halt their implementation through preliminary and permanent injunctions, vacate the rules and restore the long-standing agency practice, and prevent the federal government from using PRWORA as a pretext to dismantle core safety net programs in the future.
Attorney General Neronha co-led this lawsuit with in filing this lawsuit with New York Attorney General Letitia James and Washington Attorney General Nick Brown. Joining them are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
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