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States sue USDA over efforts to gather food stamp data on tens of millions of people

A coalition of states is suing the federal government to prevent it from gathering personal data on tens of millions of people who receive food assistance.
Spencer Platt
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A coalition of states is suing the federal government to prevent it from gathering personal data on tens of millions of people who receive food assistance.

Updated July 28, 2025 at 8:26 PM CDT

A coalition of 21 states and Washington, D.C. filed a lawsuit Monday against the U.S. Department of Agriculture after the federal agency told states to turn over the detailed, personal information of food assistance applicants and their household members.

The USDA has told states they have until July 30 to turn over data about all applicants to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, over the last five years, including names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and addresses. Last week, the agency broadened the scope of information it is collecting to include other data points, including immigration status and information about household members.

USDA has suggested states that do not comply could lose funds.

The new federal lawsuit, led by Democratic attorneys general from California and New York, argues the USDA has not followed protocols outlined in various federal privacy laws. The states are asking a judge to block USDA from making its data demand or withholding funds from states that do not turn over the data.

"SNAP recipients provided this information to get help feeding their families not to be entered into a government surveillance database or be used as targets in the president's inhumane immigration agenda," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at a Monday press conference announcing the lawsuit.

The legal fight over SNAP data comes as the Trump administration is collecting and linking government data in new ways for purposes that include immigration enforcement. The administration is taking steps to share IRS and Medicaid data with immigration enforcement officials to help them locate people who may be subject to deportation.

The lawsuit calls USDA's demand for SNAP data as "another step in this Orwellian surveillance campaign."

A coalition of states has already sued to stop the administration from sharing Medicaid data.

While immigrants without legal status are ineligible for SNAP benefits, U.S. citizen children can qualify for the program regardless of the immigration status of their parents.

Banta pushed back on the USDA's assertions that centralizing data on SNAP applicants and recipients is needed to check the SNAP program's integrity and ensure only eligible people are receiving benefits. There are already existing anti-fraud programs in place as well as established ways for the federal government to audit state data without needing to collect personally identifying information.

"This isn't about oversight and transparency," Banta said. "This is about establishing widespread surveillance under the guise of fighting fraud. We can call it what it is, an illegal data grab designed to scare people away from public assistance programs."

The suit asserts that the USDA's data collection plan is unconstitutional, violates federal privacy laws and USDA's own authority. In addition to the USDA and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, the suit also names the USDA's Office of Inspector General as a defendant, as that office has been separately demanding sensitive data from some states, as was first reported by NPR in May.

A USDA spokesperson told NPR the department does not comment on litigation. The U.S. Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment.

The states' lawsuit is the second one to challenge the USDA's data collection plan. A group of SNAP recipients, an anti-hunger group and a privacy organization sued weeks after USDA announced the plan in May. That suit is still proceeding. The federal judge in that case declined the plaintiffs' request to intervene last week to postpone the agency's data collection deadline.

More than 40 million people receive SNAP benefits across the country each month.

States collect detailed information from applicants to determine if they qualify for food assistance. That data has always stayed with the states until this request.

But the USDA has cited one of Trump's executive orders that calls for "unfettered access" to data from state programs that receive federal funds in order to curb waste, fraud and abuse.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said SNAP applicants must share detailed information with the states when they apply, including landlord contact information, how much they spend on utility bills and medical debt.

"Government at all levels has a responsibility to be good stewards over the private personal identifying information we request from our residents in order to effectuate these programs," Nessel said.

In USDA's public notice that it issued last month about its data collection plan, the agency asserted it could share the data with law enforcement and other agencies – including foreign governments – if there was a possible violation of some kind, even if unrelated to SNAP.

A group of 14 states wrote a comment objecting to the USDA's public notice, saying that broad use of SNAP data contradicted the statute that created the program.

The comment from states was one of more than 450 public comments USDA received. Though a senior USDA official acknowledged most comments received by last Monday were in opposition to the plan, the USDA pressed forward to begin to collect data on July 24, the day after the comment period closed.

Some states have indicated they plan to comply with USDA's request, though it is unclear how many states are on track to meet the July 30 deadline.

For example, the Texas agency that administers SNAP for the state told the USDA during the public comment period that it needed more clarity on the data collection process and would need eight to ten weeks after getting answers to submit the data.

It would take California more than three months to collect and produce the data, the lawsuit asserts.

The suit argues that the data demand will have a chilling effect on people's willingness to use SNAP.

Nessel, the attorney general from Michigan, said she has heard anecdotal reports in her state about mixed status families avoiding food pantries or avoiding using SNAP benefits, even when the children are eligible, out of fear of immigration enforcement.

"Parents are too afraid to get food for them now," Nessel said. "And that is so cruel on every level I can possibly imagine."

Copyright 2025 NPR

Jude Joffe-Block
[Copyright 2024 NPR]
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