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September 2, 2026

4 entries on this date.

DOJ legal opinion expanded welfare-reporting mandate to all state agencies, tying future TANF/SSI funding to reporting immigrants to DHS

On September 2, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel issued a legal opinion, authored by Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joshua Craddock, concluding that all state agencies -- not only those administering welfare benefits -- must report individuals a state believes are unlawfully present to the Department of Homeland Security as a condition of continued Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) funding. The opinion reverses a narrower 1998 OLC interpretation that limited the reporting duty to the specific agencies administering those programs; DOJ said states will not lose funding already disbursed but risk losing future TANF and SSI dollars if they do not comply.

U.S. Southern Command destroyed Ecuadorian vessel over unproven Los Choneros ties, second such strike in five days

On September 2, 2026, U.S. Southern Command's Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere intercepted and sank a second Ecuadorian vessel in international waters of the eastern Pacific, five days after a first, again alleging without independently disclosed evidence that it was a "floating refueling station" supporting Los Choneros, a group the U.S. has designated a foreign terrorist organization. U.S. forces removed the vessel's occupants and transferred them to Ecuadorian authorities before sinking it. It was the second of five such vessels SOUTHCOM destroyed under this capture-and-transfer pattern between August 28 and September 7, 2026.

DHS Secretary Mullin asked DOJ to investigate voter-data nonprofits ERIC and CEIR over disputed privacy-law claims

On September 2, 2026, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin sent Attorney General Todd Blanche a letter asking the Justice Department to investigate the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) and the Center for Election Innovation & Research (CEIR) for allegedly violating the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act by sharing state motor-vehicle and voter data. The letter, released publicly by the White House on September 4, also asked DOJ to review whether certain ballot-marking devices comply with federal law. CEIR's executive director denied the allegations, and a federal judge had already dismissed a similar civil suit against the group as frivolous in June 2026.

Revere, Mass. police officer misused Flock cameras and state database to track ex-girlfriend, suspended without pay

On September 2, 2026, Revere, Massachusetts police confirmed that Officer Michael Tiso had used the department's Flock license-plate-reader cameras and a state database on multiple occasions to track the location of his ex-girlfriend, Marissa Todisco, and her family, following a complaint the department received in December 2025. An internal affairs investigation substantiated the misuse, and Tiso served a three-day unpaid suspension from August 24 to August 26, 2026 before returning to duty; the findings were reported to the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission.