ACF Rescinds Obsolete Amnesty Grant Program, Launches Deregulatory Push

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, today rescinded a defunct grant program and proposed additional rule changes as part of a broader effort to cut outdated and obsolete federal regulations.

ACF eliminated the State Legalization Impact Assistance Grants (SLIAG) , a program tied to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 that has not issued payments since 1995. The agency also issued two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking to remove duplicative regulations involving Native American programs and services for repatriated nationals with mental illness .

Together, the actions mark the first phase of an agency-wide deregulation effort aimed at reducing regulatory burden and modernizing ACF's rulebook.

"Regulations rise like rockets and fall like feathers," said Assistant Secretary Alex J. Adams. "We are right-sizing our regulatory footprint so what remains is relevant and meaningful. These actions remove outdated requirements and support the Trump administration's broader effort to unleash economic growth."

SLIAG operated from 1987 to 1994 to help states cover costs associated with legalization under federal immigration law, including education, public health and law enforcement. The program has been inactive for decades but remained in federal regulations until now.

The new rulemaking actions follow a comprehensive review using a "Zero-Based Regulation " approach, which evaluates whether existing rules are still necessary. ACF program offices assessed regulations for relevance, duplication and burden, identifying those that are obsolete or no longer serve their intended purpose.

ACF said additional deregulatory actions are expected as the review continues.

The effort builds on recent steps to streamline agency guidance. Last month, ACF eliminated nearly 36,000 pages of outdated sub-regulatory materials.

The proposed rules are open for public comment for 30 days.