States, groups sue over Trump policy

Several Democratic-led U.S. states and advocacy groups sued the Trump administration on Monday to block a new policy allowing federal immigration authorities to receive information about low-income families with children enrolled in a cash-assistance program.



The two lawsuits marked the latest in a series of legal battles over efforts by the US administration to give immigration officials access to sensitive personal data on millions of people held by other government agencies.



"The Trump administration is exploiting a program designed to ensure children do not go hungry and to help needy families get back on their feet in order to fuel its mass surveillance effort," California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, said in a statement.



Both cases take aim at a move announced in June by the Administration for Children and Families, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to allow it to share with other agencies records on families receiving benefits from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.



The federally funded, state-administered program provides over $16 billion annually to states to provide assistance to low-income families with children, including cash payments.