The Trump administration announced on Monday that it was investigating a California program that has provided cash assistance to some immigrants in the country without legal permission who are older or have disabilities and are not eligible for federal aid.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Los Angeles issued a subpoena to the county requesting records that include the identities of people who applied for the state's Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants, the Department of Homeland Security said.
For decades, the program has provided subsistence-level benefits to impoverished residents 65 or older, as well as those who are blind or have a disability. It serves an average of 16,556 people each month across California.
State officials say the California program is paid entirely by state funds. It began in 1998 after the federal government, two years earlier, tightened rules under which noncitizens could receive Supplemental Security Income benefits. The California recipients typically have applied for a pathway to remain in the country but are ineligible to receive federal benefits because of their immigration status.
The announcement is the latest indication that President Donald Trump intends to use his federal powers to confront Democratic-led states that offer their own benefits to immigrants who lack legal status. It is also believed to be one of the first requests from the Trump administration for state personal data on immigrants outside the criminal justice system.
"Radical left politicians in California prioritize illegal aliens over our own citizens," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
"If you are an illegal immigrant, you should leave now," she added. "The gravy train is over. While this subpoena focuses only on Los Angeles County, it is just the beginning."
Homeland Security said Monday that its investigation was seeking to determine if immigrants living in the country without legal status had received federal SSI funds in the last four years. Such benefits are administered by the Social Security Administration but separate from Social Security payments that are based on one's work history.
California's Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants was created to help vulnerable residents who don't qualify for SSI because of their immigration status.
Holly J. Mitchell, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, said in an email that the state program, known as CAPI, served as a crucial safety net for residents in need in California.
"LA County is focused on continuing to provide social services that make all of our communities better off, regardless of the latest efforts by the federal administration to scare and target some of our most vulnerable residents," she added.
Tanya Broder, senior counsel with the National Immigration Law Center, said the program was meant to help immigrants living in the country lawfully who would have received federal benefits before the 1996 change in the law.
"The 1996 welfare law authorized states to provide benefits of any kind to their own residents, regardless of their immigration status, with their own money," Broder said. "So they're authorized by federal law. There's nothing unlawful about it."
The state budget allocated $239.6 million for the program in the fiscal year that ends June 30, all from California's general fund, according to the state's Department of Finance. LA County's budget for 2024-25 says $115 million is being spent on the state-backed program there; that is up 29% since 2022 because more people are participating in the program.
Los Angeles County, the nation's largest, is home to 9.8 million people, including an estimated 3.5 million immigrants, according to a University of Southern California report. As of 2021, an estimated 809,500 residents of the county were immigrants without legal status.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Los Angeles issued a subpoena to the county requesting records that include the identities of people who applied for the state's Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants, the Department of Homeland Security said.
For decades, the program has provided subsistence-level benefits to impoverished residents 65 or older, as well as those who are blind or have a disability. It serves an average of 16,556 people each month across California.
State officials say the California program is paid entirely by state funds. It began in 1998 after the federal government, two years earlier, tightened rules under which noncitizens could receive Supplemental Security Income benefits. The California recipients typically have applied for a pathway to remain in the country but are ineligible to receive federal benefits because of their immigration status.
The announcement is the latest indication that President Donald Trump intends to use his federal powers to confront Democratic-led states that offer their own benefits to immigrants who lack legal status. It is also believed to be one of the first requests from the Trump administration for state personal data on immigrants outside the criminal justice system.
"Radical left politicians in California prioritize illegal aliens over our own citizens," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
"If you are an illegal immigrant, you should leave now," she added. "The gravy train is over. While this subpoena focuses only on Los Angeles County, it is just the beginning."
Homeland Security said Monday that its investigation was seeking to determine if immigrants living in the country without legal status had received federal SSI funds in the last four years. Such benefits are administered by the Social Security Administration but separate from Social Security payments that are based on one's work history.
California's Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants was created to help vulnerable residents who don't qualify for SSI because of their immigration status.
Holly J. Mitchell, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, said in an email that the state program, known as CAPI, served as a crucial safety net for residents in need in California.
"LA County is focused on continuing to provide social services that make all of our communities better off, regardless of the latest efforts by the federal administration to scare and target some of our most vulnerable residents," she added.
Tanya Broder, senior counsel with the National Immigration Law Center, said the program was meant to help immigrants living in the country lawfully who would have received federal benefits before the 1996 change in the law.
"The 1996 welfare law authorized states to provide benefits of any kind to their own residents, regardless of their immigration status, with their own money," Broder said. "So they're authorized by federal law. There's nothing unlawful about it."
The state budget allocated $239.6 million for the program in the fiscal year that ends June 30, all from California's general fund, according to the state's Department of Finance. LA County's budget for 2024-25 says $115 million is being spent on the state-backed program there; that is up 29% since 2022 because more people are participating in the program.
Los Angeles County, the nation's largest, is home to 9.8 million people, including an estimated 3.5 million immigrants, according to a University of Southern California report. As of 2021, an estimated 809,500 residents of the county were immigrants without legal status.
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