Justice department orders US states to expand how they report undocumented immigrants

An ICE agent makes an arrest on a traffic stop in Mustang Ridge, outside Austin, Texas, on 16 April. Photograph: Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images

The US Department of Justice has ordered states to expand how they report undocumented immigrants to the federal government, according to a legal opinion from Tuesday that reverses a policy that has been in place for nearly 30 years.

Under the new opinion, issued by the department’s office of legal counsel, any state that takes federal money through support schemes for low-income Americans, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), must now report undocumented immigrants across its entire state government, not just through the specific welfare office that runs the program.