While Congress is dealing with bad border bargains as I depicted last week, the Trump administration is trying a more direct approach to making illegal immigration less appealing to those who would sneak into the country or overstay a visa. By expanding the number of programs that qualify as federal public benefits, the administration is limiting access to government largesse to citizens only. Among other things, there will be no more Head Start, educational subsidies for postsecondary programs, or access to workforce development grants for illegal immigrants, according to this edict.

But if President Trump tries to do anything with an executive order, it’s a sure bet he’ll be dragged into court by some liberal actor. In this case, the leftist actor is New York AG Letitia James, who, being a familiar foe to Trump, is spearheading a lawsuit brought by 20 state attorneys general (as well as their DC equivalent) to prevent the order from proceeding and keep the federal money spigot flowing. “The federal government is pulling that foundation out from under us overnight,” James whined, “jeopardizing cancer screenings, early childhood education, primary care, and so much more.”

Although the old Gray Lady referred to these as “safety net programs,” a Trump spokesperson reminded us for whom the safety net is really intended. “When illegal aliens exploit these resources, it is at the expense of Americans in desperate need of them,” explained White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson in a statement. “President Trump was elected based on his promise to put Americans first, and that’s exactly what this administration is committed to doing.”

But if you ask political analyst Daniel Greenfield, the lawsuit is a tacit admission that these blue states have been pouring federal funds into the coddling of illegal immigrants and don’t want that gravy train to come to a screeching halt.

“If community health care centers would be forced to close unless they’re reimbursed for providing services to illegal aliens, how many of their patients actually are illegals?” asks Greenfield as just one example. “The conclusion would seem to be that either a majority or a significant percentage are illegal aliens.”

“Over and over again, attorney generals in liberal states list how much money their states receive to provide educational and health care services, and complain that they will no longer be able to function if they are forced to cut off services to illegal aliens,” Greenfield continues. “That suggests these health care and educational programs are really primarily servicing illegal aliens.”

One of those magnets for illegal aliens, New York City, has made recent news after the shooting of a Border Patrol officer last week, as our Nate Jackson detailed. As a result, an angry border czar Tom Homan warned these AGs and any other illegal alien defenders that sanctuary cities are now his priority and he will have a “flood” of ICE agents looking for them.

It is essential to note the political calculus involved. With blue states coddling illegal aliens and attracting them to live within their borders, each illegal counts the same as a citizen when it comes to population and congressional apportionment. For example, it’s estimated that the state of New York has 670,000 illegal immigrants out of a total noncitizen population of 1.8 million. Given that a congressional seat represents roughly three-quarters of a million people, the illegal immigrant population props up the Empire State’s delegation by almost a full seat just by itself, and the total noncitizen population buttresses it by 2.5 seats.

While the group of 20 plaintiff states speaks with lofty prose about how the Trump administration has failed to account for the “devastating impact” these new cuts would put on their states, it’s the ill-gotten power and government funding that these AGs are really trying to protect.