New York joins 19 states in lawsuit against Trump administration over access to SNAP recipient data.
On Monday, a coalition of 20 states led by New York, California, and Michigan announced plans to challenge the Trump administration’s recent efforts to acquire sensitive personal data from millions of food stamp recipients. This initiative has raised concerns regarding the potential targeting of undocumented immigrants and the privacy implications for vulnerable populations who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) mandated that processors or state agencies must submit detailed data about food stamp recipients by July 30. This directive aligns with President Trump’s executive order issued in March, which called for “unfettered access to comprehensive data from all state programs” under the pretext of preventing waste, fraud, and abuse in government assistance programs. Furthermore, the USDA has threatened to withhold federal funding from states that refuse to comply with this directive, putting significant pressure on state officials.
At a press conference held in Northern California, New York State Attorney General Letitia James highlighted that approximately 2.9 million residents of New York are beneficiaries of SNAP and expressed deep concerns that the policy would deter vulnerable populations from accessing the essential benefits they need. Attorney General James emphasized the chilling effect this policy could have on communities, particularly among immigrants, suggesting that it serves to sow fear and insecurity.
Joining her in this effort, California Attorney General Rob Bonta criticized the policy as a covert means of building a government database aimed at targeting immigrants in what he described as Trump’s mass deportation agenda. Bonta argued that this initiative is not about genuine oversight or transparency but rather about establishing a broad surveillance scheme under the guise of preventing fraud, noting that SNAP has historically maintained low rates of fraud.
James and Bonta further asserted that both the U.S. Constitution and existing state and federal privacy laws prohibit the sharing of sensitive information, such as recipients’ immigration status, Social Security numbers, and home addresses. They emphasized that the data collected through SNAP was intended solely for verifying eligibility and providing benefits.
The actions taken by the Trump administration to access SNAP data appear to be part of a larger pattern of attempts to harvest information from various government databases, including the IRS and Medicaid, to aid immigration enforcement. Previous attempts to utilize such data in this context have also encountered legal challenges.
As this legal battle unfolds, a spokesperson for the USDA declined to comment on the ongoing litigation. The implications of this case could significantly affect how assistance programs are managed and the privacy rights of those who depend on them.
