Wisconsin Attorney General and Democrat Josh Kaul joined a lawsuit against the Trump Administration’s newly written executive order to prevent illegal aliens from access to welfare. There are 20 other states along with Wisconsin listed as plaintiffs seeking to prevent the implementation of Executive Order 14218 – Preventing Illegal Aliens from Obtaining Social Security Act Benefits.
The official statement of the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) reads, “Earlier this month, in a reversal of long-standing policy, the administration issued notices that restrict state safety net programs from serving their communities by imposing additional verification red tape.”
The ‘verification red tape’ is the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal aliens receiving benefits. Organizations that provide current benefits to citizens and undocumented immigrants would lose funding if they do not comply with Trump’s executive order.
Kaul claims, “These changes threaten to put out of reach access to health care services and programs that help create opportunities for Wisconsinites. The restrictions will damage the effectiveness of important programs and should be enjoined.”
“The agencies’ new interpretation prevents states from using federal funds to provide many programs to individuals regardless of immigration status, which could require them to verify the lawful status of those they serve,” says the Wisconsin DOJ.
The lawsuit contends the Trump Administration is undoing 25 years of legal precedent regarding illegal aliens. (RELATED: Democratic Party Chair Reveals Strategy for Turning Wisconsin into Solid Blue State)
The executive order restores the 1996 welfare reform bill’s eligibility requirements signed by President Clinton. Title IV of The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act has to do with alien requirements. Except under certain instances, which include asylum seekers, illegal aliens are not eligible for benefits.
The Trump Administration has rewritten the requirements to reflect the bill’s original intent. The 1996 welfare bill was considered an historic reform. The National Archives cite the Clinton Whitehouse demonstrating that welfare recipients were cut in half during his presidency from 1993-2000. More than a third of those recipients went back to work from 1996 to 1998 according to his Council of Economic Advisors.
The work requirements were gutted by President Obama in 2012. (RELATED: Progressive Wisconsin Congressman Caught up in ‘Cyberstalking’ Allegations on X)