The Justice Department announced Wednesday that it has released a new legal opinion that clarifies state reporting requirements of illegal migrants who are enrolled in welfare programs, such as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel’s opinion withdraws a Clinton-era opinion that only required the welfare programs themselves to report undocumented migrants. The new one widens that to make it necessary for all states enrolled in TANF or the Supplemental Security Income program.

“Congress wrote this requirement plainly,” Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel said in a statement. “When a state chooses to participate in TANF, it accepts the obligation to report illegal aliens in the United States. 

"Tax dollars intended to help vulnerable Americans should not perversely encourage illegal entry into the United States, but rather should reinforce our laws and our borders," he added.

The department clarified that the new requirement will only affect states moving forward, and will not be retroactive. 

All 50 states, Washington, D.C., and several U.S. territories currently participate in TANF and SSI. Federal TANF funding grants exceed $16.4 billion annually.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.