By Hank Russell
An immigration rights group has filed a brief challenging the state’s lawsuit against the federal government, claiming the state is breaking the law by giving federal money to those who came into the country illegally.
On August 22, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) filed a brief in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire opposing a demand by the State of New York that the court reverse the Trump administration’s cutoff of federal funding to the state, even as the state refuses to verify that it is not giving public benefits to illegal aliens.
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) limits public benefits to “qualified aliens” only, a group that does not include illegal aliens. PRWORA also requires states to verify that they are not giving public benefits to unqualified aliens, FAIR stated.
According to the organization, after PRWORA was enacted, then-President Bill Clinton’s attorney general, Janet Reno, gave states waivers from this verification requirement. The Trump administration cancelled these waivers, and now withholds funds from states, such as New York, that refuse to verify that they are not giving public benefits to illegal aliens.
In its brief, FAIR aimed to show that the state’s motion for an injunction must be denied, because the court does not even have jurisdiction to grant it. By statute, Congress has withdrawn jurisdiction from federal courts to review actions Congress has not provided standards for taking, but left to the discretion of executive officials. PRWORA gives such unreviewable discretion to the Attorney General to grant or cancel waivers of the verification requirement.
“FAIR has a strong interest in this case because Plaintiffs’ efforts to secure federal taxpayer funds free of the strings Congress placed on the receipt of those funds aids their efforts to obstruct federal immigration enforcement, violating the Supremacy Clause and federal statutes,” the brief stated. “FAIR’s brief explains Congress’s intent in enacting the [PRWORA] and demonstrates that in providing sole and exclusive discretion to the Attorney General, Congress precludes judicial review of the exercise of that discretion under the Administrative Procedures Act—all of which aid the Court’s resolution of the preliminary injunction motion.”
If the court sides with the state, FAIR said, “no future President, cabinet secretary, agency, or department would be able to reevaluate, reverse, or even revise any grant program regardless of the language Congress employed when enacting the relevant statute.”
FAIR Executive Director and General Counsel Dale L. Wilcox said, “For our immigration laws to be enforced effectively, it is essential that the magnet of public benefits be turned off. Illegal aliens should not receive a pay-off for breaking our laws. Congress understood that very well when it passed PRWORA, and New York’s plea that it be allowed to go on flouting the law is without any legal basis. We hope the court sees that it doesn’t even have jurisdiction to enter an injunction, and denies relief.”
Long Island Life & Politics reached out to the governor’s office and the Justice Department. A Hochul spokesperson said they do not comment on pending location. The Justice Department had no comment.