Rescission of TEGL 10-23 Change 2 on work authorization

CLASSIFICATION
   EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION                WIOA
               ADVISORY SYSTEM                           CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL
          U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR                       OWI
             Washington, D.C. 20210                      DATE
                                                         March 18, 2026

ADVISORY:       TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER NO. 10-23,
                Change 3

TO:             STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES
                STATE WORKFORCE ADMINISTRATORS
                STATE WORKFORCE LIAISONS
                STATE AND LOCAL WORKFORCE BOARD CHAIRS AND DIRECTORS
                AMERICAN JOB CENTER DIRECTOR
                STATE LABOR COMMISSIONERS
                JOB CORPS PROGRAM
                WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY ACT SECTION 166
                INDIAN AND NATIVE AMERICAN GRANTEES
                WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY ACT SECTION 167
                MIGRANT AND SEASONAL FARMWORKER JOBS PROGRAM
                GRANTEES
                WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY ACT SECTION 169
                REENTRY EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES GRANTEES AND OTHER
                DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS
                WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY ACT SECTION 171
                YOUTHBUILD GRANTEES
                SENIOR COMMUNITY SERVICE EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM
                GRANTEES

FROM:           HENRY MACK, ED.D.
                Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT:        Rescission of Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 10-23, Change 2:
                Work Authorization Verification in Grant Programs Administered by the
                Employment and Training Administration

1. Purpose. To rescind Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 10-23, Change 2.

2. Action Requested. Please disseminate this information to appropriate staff.

3. Summary and Background.

   a. Summary – TEGL 10-23, Change 3, changes the status of TEGL 10-23, Change 2 to
      rescinded.

   RESCISSIONS                                            EXPIRATION DATE
   TEGL 10-23 Change 2                                    Continuing

b. Background – On February 19, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO)
   14218, Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders, which directed Federal agencies
   to take certain steps to ensure that taxpayer-funded benefits are not being provided to
   individuals whose immigration status renders them ineligible. The EO requires agencies
   to review their programs to ensure they are in alignment with the Personal Responsibility
   and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) (Public Law 104-193),
   which provides that aliens who are not “qualified aliens” as defined in the Act are not
   eligible to receive federal public benefits. 8 U.S.C. 1611. The EO also instructs agencies
   to enhance eligibility verification systems to ensure that ineligible individuals do not
   receive benefits.

   On July 10, 2025, in accordance with the requirements of EO 14218, the Employment
   and Training Administration (ETA) issued TEGL 10-23, Change 2, Work Authorization
   Verification in Grant Programs Administered by the Employment and Training
   Administration. TEGL 10-23, Change 2 informed grantees of eligibility and verification
   requirements in the following programs: Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
   (WIOA) Title I Adult, Dislocated Worker, Youth programs (including statewide
   employment and training services funded by the Governor reserve); WIOA National
   Dislocated Worker Grants (DWGs); Wagner-Peyser Act (W-P) Employment Service;
   Reentry Employment Opportunities (REO) and other programs authorized under Section
   169 of WIOA; YouthBuild; WIOA Section 167 Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker
   Program, also commonly referred to as the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP);
   and the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP).

   The TEGL instructed grantees that all “participant-level services” in the above programs
   are considered federal public benefits under PRWORA, because they are the same as or
   similar to benefits listed in PRWORA, 8 U.S.C. 1611(c) (defining federal public benefits
   to include several enumerated benefit categories, as well as “any other similar benefit”).
   Consistent with WIOA’s goal of preparing job seekers and workers to succeed in the
   labor market while helping employers hire the skilled workers they need to compete in
   the global economy, the TEGL also instructed grantees that they must verify work
   authorization for all participants before providing participant-level services. The
   requirement for grantees to obtain proof of work authorization was also intended to
   ensure compliance with nondiscrimination requirements in WIOA Section 188:
   “Participation in programs and activities or receiving funds under [Title I of WIOA] shall
   be available to citizens and nationals of the United States, lawfully admitted permanent
   resident aliens, refugees, asylees, and parolees, and other immigrants authorized by the
   Attorney General to work in the United States.” 29 U.S.C. 3248(a)(5). The TEGL
   provided examples of documents that could be collected for verification purposes, and it
   encouraged states to use U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Systematic Alien
   Verification for Entitlements (SAVE), an online service that provides immigration status
   and citizenship information to public agencies.

4. Rescission of TEGL 10-23, Change 2. ETA is rescinding TEGL 10-23, Change 2. In order
   to facilitate further consideration and implementation of PRWORA requirements, and to
   obtain input from interested stakeholders, the Department will engage in notice-and-
   comment rulemaking via publication in the Federal Register.

5. Inquiries. Please direct inquiries to the appropriate Regional Office.

6. References.
      • Executive Order 14218, “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders,” February
         19, 2025, available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-
         president-donald-j-trump-ends-taxpayer-subsidization-of-open-borders/ or in the
         Federal Register at: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-02-25/pdf/2025-
         03137.pdf.

7. Attachment. Not applicable.