Twenty-one Democratic attorneys general are fighting efforts by the Trump administration to potentially use Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program data in its immigration crackdown.
In a lawsuit announced on Monday, the officials are challenging demands by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that states release personal data about SNAP recipients, including Social Security numbers, home addresses and their immigration status by July 30. That demand comes as Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons has said that the Trump administration intends to use data from social programs like Medicaid to gather “intelligence” on undocumented immigrants and track people down. USDA, meanwhile, has claimed that its request for personal data is aimed at verifying applicants’ eligibility for SNAP, also known as food stamps, and reducing fraud and abuse in the program.
“We will not comment on pending litigation,” a USDA spokesperson said in response to the lawsuit, while referring HuffPost to the Justice Department. A DOJ spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Democratic AGs behind the suit argue that these personal data requests will deter immigrants from applying for social programs and be used to identify undocumented people for enforcement actions as Trump continues to ramp up deportations. There are roughly forty million people who use SNAP benefits in the U.S., and non-citizen parents are able to apply for benefits for their children who are citizens.
