Help DHS obtain information on criminal aliens in sanctuary jurisdictions

Research notes

Open-ended ask (‘jurisdictions across the United States’): a directive plus documented results is partial.

Open, reviewed 2026-10-16 (below). The 2026-09-30 CourtListener opinions snapshot among the federal court records we keep and search carries an Office of Legal Counsel opinion, Reconsidering State Reporting Requirements in Section 404 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (50 Op. O.L.C. __, 2026-09-01, to HHS’s Acting General Counsel). It withdraws OLC’s 1998 opinion, 22 Op. O.L.C. 204. It holds that “State” in PRWORA section 404(b)–(c) means every component agency of a state that takes part in TANF or SSI, not only the agency running the program. So every such state agency must report to DHS any person it knows to be unlawfully present. That reaches sanctuary states’ own agencies, and it is a route by which DHS obtains information. It is an interpretation, not yet an instrument any state is under, and its object is unlawful presence, not criminal aliens. Read only from our stored copy, it is not Evidence — a source is opened before it is cited — and the Status stays partial. What would settle it: the opinion itself, at https://www.justice.gov/olc/media/1459981/dl, and any HHS/ACF or SSA letter to states that applies it (acf.gov TANF policy letters, the Federal Register, and DOJ and HHS press releases, from 2026-09-01). Whether that letter reaches the information this Quote is about decides between a new partial event and a note.

Not this ask (2026-10-15): DOJ v. St. Paul and DOJ v. Portland (complaints filed 2026-10-15) challenge city bans on masks and city identification rules for federal officers. They are Civil Division suits against sanctuary-style laws, but they seek no information about criminal aliens.

Reviewed 2026-10-16. We opened the opinion at justice.gov/olc/media/1459981/dl; its syllabus and first pages match our stored text (to HHS’s Acting General Counsel, at HHS’s request of 2026-06-16). DOJ announced it on 2026-09-02 (Justice Department Clarifies Duty of States to Report Known Illegal Aliens Under Welfare-Reform Law, justice.gov/opa, among the DOJ press releases we keep and search): it applies prospectively, and “Federal agencies may rely on OLC’s advice to update TANF and SSI grant agreements and compliance processes”. We found no such update: the Federal Register documents we keep and search through 2026-10-15 include none, and a web search finds only ACF’s March 2025 letter to TANF administrators, which concerns eligibility, not reporting. So no event: under the test above it stays a note until HHS/ACF or SSA applies it to states. Still open: whether ACF issues a TANF policy announcement or SSA a notice applying section 404(b)–(c), and whether states sue to challenge it.