NEW JERSEY - New Jersey Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport has joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general criticizing what the group describes as federal threats aimed at pressuring Minnesota’s government to hand over sensitive resident data and roll back state and local public-safety policies.
In a letter dated Jan. 29, 2026, and addressed to U.S. Attorney General Pamela J. Bondi and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the coalition argues that federal demands made to Minnesota officials lack lawful basis, intrude on state sovereignty, and may conflict with existing litigation and court-ordered protections referenced in the letter.
The press release announcing Davenport’s participation said the coalition was responding to a Jan. 24 letter from Bondi to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz that, according to the release, demanded specific actions “in exchange for the withdrawal of federal agents from Minnesota.” The release said those demands included turning over Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) data, dismantling certain local public-safety policies, and granting federal access to Minnesotans’ voter information.
“Instead of working with state and local leaders to keep the public safe, the Trump Administration has sown chaos, stoked fear, and undermined public safety in Minnesota at every turn. Now the Department of Justice is making things even worse, engaging in coercive tactics that are outrageous and that do nothing to promote public safety,” said Acting Attorney General Davenport. “I stand together with my fellow attorneys general in condemning the Trump Administration’s reckless targeting of Minnesotans, and I call on the Administration to end this shameful chapter immediately.”
In the Jan. 29 letter, the attorneys general wrote that the DOJ’s Jan. 24 message “does not appear to be a good-faith effort at intergovernmental coordination,” describing it instead as “an after-the-fact attempt to justify” what the coalition characterized as a “highly concerning federal operation” in Minnesota.
The letter contends that the DOJ demanded Minnesota share “all” records related to Medicaid and federal nutrition programs, including SNAP data, which the coalition said would require disclosure of personal data without sufficient factual basis. The attorneys general also referenced ongoing and prior litigation involving federal requests for SNAP and Medicaid-related data sharing, noting that courts have issued orders limiting or blocking certain data-sharing efforts described in the letter.
The coalition further objected to federal demands that Minnesota repeal “sanctuary policies,” arguing that states have discretion over how they deploy limited state and local resources and citing court decisions referenced in the letter that, according to the coalition, have upheld certain state policy choices in this area.
The letter also disputes the DOJ’s request for access to voter rolls, which the coalition said include sensitive personal information for Minnesotans, and it points to cases cited in the letter where courts dismissed federal lawsuits seeking voter data.
While stating that the federal government has authority to enforce federal immigration law, the coalition wrote that such authority does not extend to “commandeering state governments,” coercing the repeal of “lawful” state policies, or demanding broad access to sensitive records based on unsupported assertions. The letter also invokes constitutional principles, including the Tenth Amendment, in describing the balance of authority between states and the federal government.
The letter lists New York Attorney General Letitia James as the first signatory and includes Davenport among the attorneys general who signed. Signatories named in the letter include the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, in addition to New Jersey and New York.
Although the dispute centers on Minnesota, New Jersey’s participation places the state among a group of attorneys general asserting that federal requests for residents’ health-benefit data, food-assistance data, and voter information raise legal and constitutional concerns when paired with threats tied to federal operations or funding. The coalition said it intends to continue opposing what it views as unlawful federal interference and to defend state authority and resident privacy.
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