New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin has obtained a preliminary injunction against the Trump Administration’s effort to impose new restrictions on access to health, education, and social service programs for low-income families. The ruling temporarily blocks federal directives that would have required states to verify immigration status before providing access to programs such as Head Start, Title X family planning clinics, food banks, domestic violence shelters, adult education, and community health centers.
“We have blocked yet another attempt by the Trump Administration to harm New Jersey – this time trying to place unlawful restrictions on substance abuse treatment programs, Head Start, soup kitchens, and much more,” said Attorney General Platkin. “We prevailed in court for a simple reason. The President cannot ignore the laws of our nation and the Constitution. We will always stand up for New Jerseyans—especially when the federal government’s illegal actions threaten lifesaving services.”
The legal challenge was filed in July after four federal agencies—the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Education (ED), Labor (DOL), and Justice (DOJ)—issued coordinated directives that reinterpreted longstanding policy under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). For nearly three decades, both Republican and Democratic administrations had allowed states to provide essential services without requiring proof of immigration status.
The Trump Administration’s change would have forced states like New Jersey to verify immigration status for many public health and anti-poverty programs. According to state officials, this could have led to significant funding losses or program closures.
With this court decision, implementation of the new directives is halted while litigation continues. The ruling found that the administration likely violated both the Administrative Procedure Act and constitutional requirements by introducing sweeping mandates without proper rulemaking or consideration of their impact on communities.
Programs in New Jersey potentially affected included community mental health clinics; substance-abuse prevention and treatment initiatives; child-focused services such as Head Start; career and technical education funding; youth job development programs; as well as organizations providing crisis support like domestic violence intervention efforts and soup kitchens.
Attorney General Platkin joined attorneys general from more than 20 other states—including New York, Washington, Rhode Island, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon,Vermont,Wisconsin—and the District of Columbia in bringing forward this lawsuit.
