A coalition of Democratic attorneys general is waging a court battle to prevent the Trump administration from obtaining food stamp data on millions of recipients.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, joined by New York Attorney General Letitia James and 19 other prosecutors, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Monday to block the Department of Agriculture (USDA) from obtaining personal information on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients, according to court documents. The filing marks the latest litigation by Democrats opposed to the Trump administration’s agenda.
“Attorney General James and the coalition argue that this highly sensitive data, which includes home addresses, Social Security numbers, recent locations, immigration statuses, and more, will likely be shared across federal agencies and used for immigration enforcement, in violation of the law,” stated a press release from James’ office.
“Attorney General James and the coalition are seeking a court judgment declaring the administration’s new policy illegal and preventing enforcement,” the statement continued.
The USDA did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation about the lawsuit.
Democratic attorneys general argue the USDA’s demand is merely an effort to advance the president’s agenda on issues unrelated to the food stamp program, including immigration enforcement, according to the lawsuit. Information requested by the department includes immigration status and other sensitive data.
“Defendants’ demands for SNAP data from states do not occur in a vacuum, but rather in the context of a number of similar moves by federal agencies to obtain and disclose highly sensitive [Personal Identifying Information], not for program purposes, but for the creation of a surveillance system to advance the President’s agenda, including by facilitating the President’s mass deportation efforts,” the lawsuit stated.
The lawsuit requests that the court deem the USDA’s demand unlawful and prevent the Trump administration from conditioning receipt of food stamp funds on compliance, according to court documents. The attorneys general also request that the Trump administration not disclose the SNAP data to the Department of Government Efficiency or federal immigration authorities for any purpose other than facilitating the program.
SNAP, a major federal aid program, served an average of nearly 42 million people per month, making up more than 12% of U.S. residents, according to a 2024 USDA report. The federally funded program partners with the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service and other payment processors directly with states.
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced in May that her department would require all records associated with SNAP benefits to be shared with the government, a move the Trump administration argues would ensure “the Government’s ability to detect overpayments and fraud” and to eliminate other inefficiencies. The requested information spans from January 2020 to the present day.
“President Trump is rightfully requiring the federal government to have access to all programs it funds,” Rollins stated at the time, “and SNAP is no exception. For years, this program has been on autopilot, with no USDA insight into real-time data.”
The Trump administration states the move complies with Executive Order 14243, signed by the president on March 20. The order largely requires agency leaders to “take all necessary steps” to ensure the federal government has unfettered access to data from state-administered programs that rake in federal funding.
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