By Liz Nass
Gongwer News Service
Attorney General Dana Nessel filed her 25th lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his administration on Monday to block access restriction to health, education and social service programs.
Nessel joined 20 other states in this lawsuit that is challenging notices issued by the administration earlier this month that prohibited state safety net programs from serving residents that did not have completed citizenship or immigration status verifications.
The press release from Nessel said this change threatens access to programs like Head Start, Title X family planning, adult education, mental health care and Community Health Centers.
“Title X, community centers, and mental health services are vital to the well-being of Michigan residents,” Nessel said in a statement. “Unlawfully disregarding longstanding precedent on a whim puts these vital programs at risk, not only for those without formal documentation but for the entire community. It forces providers to comply with sudden, arbitrary changes or lose federal funding. That’s why I’m back in Court for the 25th time this year, alongside my colleagues, fighting to stop the Trump Administration’s unlawful actions and protect the programs Michigan families depend on.”
On July 10, the U.S. departments of Health and Human Services, Education, Labor and Justice started coordinating a set of rules and guidance to reinterpret the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act. This reinterpretation restricts states from using federal funds to provide services for people who cannot verify their immigration status, which has been held under past administrations on both sides of the aisle.
This affects immigrants in the country without authorization as well as some lawful visa holders, and in practice, U.S. citizens who lack access to formal documentation, Nessel said.
The rules took effect immediately or with minimal notice, according to the release.
The release said state programs are not expected to comply without having infrastructure to implement regulatory changes overnight, such as instituting immigration verification measures.
Nessel also worried that these changes would deter people from seeking out help and lead to service cutoffs from systems “that are already stretched thin.”
The states are asking the court to halt these rules on the basis that the administration did not follow procedures under the Administrative Procedure Act as well as the Constitution’s Spending Clause by imposing new funding conditions on states without fair notice or consent.
Court upholds preliminary injunction on Nessel’s DHHS case: The U.S. District Court of Rhode Island also denied a motion from the Trump administration on Friday to vacate the preliminary injunction Nessel and 19 other states secured on the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
This preliminary injunction was secured on July 1 in New York v. Kennedy, filed on May 5.
“I’m relieved the Court rejected yet another attempt by the Trump Administration to move forward with illegally dismantling pivotal divisions of the Department of Health and Human Services,”
Nessel said in a statement. “While I’m certain the case will continue to be appealed through the courts, I remain committed to defending the health and safety of Michigan residents at every turn.”
The suit argued against the federal government sending termination notices to health and human services employees across the nation in the thousands on April 1.
The preliminary injunction, filed on May 9, asked the court to prohibit Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative where 28 agencies in the department would collapse into 15 and cut around 10,000 full-time employees.
The court said it would not interpret the Supreme Court shadow docket summary orders as indications on how that court or the First Circuit Court of Appeals might rule on the merits of the cases and a motion to stay.
Gongwer News Service
Attorney General Dana Nessel filed her 25th lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his administration on Monday to block access restriction to health, education and social service programs.
Nessel joined 20 other states in this lawsuit that is challenging notices issued by the administration earlier this month that prohibited state safety net programs from serving residents that did not have completed citizenship or immigration status verifications.
The press release from Nessel said this change threatens access to programs like Head Start, Title X family planning, adult education, mental health care and Community Health Centers.
“Title X, community centers, and mental health services are vital to the well-being of Michigan residents,” Nessel said in a statement. “Unlawfully disregarding longstanding precedent on a whim puts these vital programs at risk, not only for those without formal documentation but for the entire community. It forces providers to comply with sudden, arbitrary changes or lose federal funding. That’s why I’m back in Court for the 25th time this year, alongside my colleagues, fighting to stop the Trump Administration’s unlawful actions and protect the programs Michigan families depend on.”
On July 10, the U.S. departments of Health and Human Services, Education, Labor and Justice started coordinating a set of rules and guidance to reinterpret the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act. This reinterpretation restricts states from using federal funds to provide services for people who cannot verify their immigration status, which has been held under past administrations on both sides of the aisle.
This affects immigrants in the country without authorization as well as some lawful visa holders, and in practice, U.S. citizens who lack access to formal documentation, Nessel said.
The rules took effect immediately or with minimal notice, according to the release.
The release said state programs are not expected to comply without having infrastructure to implement regulatory changes overnight, such as instituting immigration verification measures.
Nessel also worried that these changes would deter people from seeking out help and lead to service cutoffs from systems “that are already stretched thin.”
The states are asking the court to halt these rules on the basis that the administration did not follow procedures under the Administrative Procedure Act as well as the Constitution’s Spending Clause by imposing new funding conditions on states without fair notice or consent.
Court upholds preliminary injunction on Nessel’s DHHS case: The U.S. District Court of Rhode Island also denied a motion from the Trump administration on Friday to vacate the preliminary injunction Nessel and 19 other states secured on the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
This preliminary injunction was secured on July 1 in New York v. Kennedy, filed on May 5.
“I’m relieved the Court rejected yet another attempt by the Trump Administration to move forward with illegally dismantling pivotal divisions of the Department of Health and Human Services,”
Nessel said in a statement. “While I’m certain the case will continue to be appealed through the courts, I remain committed to defending the health and safety of Michigan residents at every turn.”
The suit argued against the federal government sending termination notices to health and human services employees across the nation in the thousands on April 1.
The preliminary injunction, filed on May 9, asked the court to prohibit Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative where 28 agencies in the department would collapse into 15 and cut around 10,000 full-time employees.
The court said it would not interpret the Supreme Court shadow docket summary orders as indications on how that court or the First Circuit Court of Appeals might rule on the merits of the cases and a motion to stay.
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