Illinois leaders and lawmakers spoke out on Friday about the Trump administration's move to withhold billions of dollars in federal childcare funds for Illinois and four other states run by Democrats.

The move will freeze nearly $2.4 billion for the Child Care Development Fund, and billions more in funding for other social service programs in Illinois, Minnesota, New York, California, and Colorado.

However, on Friday, a federal judge in New York issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from freezing those funds for now. The order will last for 14 days, while the court considers a request for a longer-term order.

Attorneys general in the five states affected by the funding freeze had filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, calling the move an unconstitutional abuse of power.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul applauded the judge's ruling blocking the funding freeze.

"At a time when families are struggling with basic costs of living, the Trump administration's arbitrary move to withhold this funding is particularly callous," Raoul said in a statement. "Congress enacted this critical funding to support families and help working parents access child care, and the president does not have the authority to withhold it in this way. This move comes with zero justification, and in the administration's own words, targets only Democrat-led states."    

In letters to the states, Alex J. Adams, assistant secretary for the Administration for Children and Families, wrote that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had "reason to believe" the states were "illicitly providing illegal aliens with . . . benefits intended for American citizens and lawful permanent residents."

On Friday, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) fired back, saying there is no evidence of fraud in Illinois and that the move to freeze that funding was a politically motivated attack on states that didn't vote for President Trump.

Tatiana Bermo has been able to work full-time and earn a master's degree thanks to her daughter's daycare, Concordia Place. Her 2-year-old is one of 400 kids enrolled at Concordia Place with the help of federal funds.

Without them, her family wouldn't be able to afford it.

"It's a lot of things we are going to lose," Bermo said.

HHS had announced they would pause approximately $10 billion funds to Illinois, California, Colorado, Minnesota and New York – approximately $1 billion total for various social service programs in Illinois – until they receive "verified attendance documentation."

"The president's action has nothing to do with fraud," Raoul said on Friday.

The lawsuit filed by Illinois and the other states claims the Trump administration's demand is an "impossible task on an impossible timeline."

Raoul and Durbin said the federal government hasn't given them any evidence of the misuse of taxpayer dollars.

"This program, as I mentioned, is audited regularly at the state and federal level," Durbin said. "All five states are guilty of the same political sin: they didn't vote for this president in the last election."

Lauri Morrison-Frichtl, executive director of the Illinois Head Start Association, said the funding freeze affects approximately 150,000 children in Illinois.

She said social service providers have received no clear timeline for when existing funding used by Illinois' neediest families would run dry.

"I've heard that, you know, January we should be okay, but I don't know for certain. That's just hearsay," she said.

Raoul and the other states' attorneys general are seeking a court order to immediately stop the federal funding freeze.

In the meantime, Morrison-Frichtl said she's worried about the greater impact if the funds are disrupted.

"Parents' children depend on these quality childcare centers across our state to get to work. So, you think about the economic impact this is going to have if these funds do actually freeze," she said.

The controversy originates from a video posted by a conservative YouTuber claiming that nearly a dozen publicly funded daycare centers in Minnesota were not actually providing childcare services. There have been no similar allegations involving daycare centers in Illinois.

Durbin said Illinois lawmakers have not been made aware of any such concerns in the state.