Judge blocks USDA from collecting data about SNAP applicants in 21
states
[September 20, 2025]
By REBECCA BOONE
A judge has temporarily barred the federal government from collecting
personal information about residents enrolled in the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program in 21 states and Washington, D.C.
U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney in California issued the temporary
restraining order against the U.S. Department of Agriculture on
Thursday, and said a hearing would be held next month to determine if a
longer-term prohibition is necessary.
Chesney found that states were likely to succeed in their argument that
the personal data can only be used for things like administering the
food assistance program, and that it generally can't be shared with
other entities. The states said they feared that the data would be used
to aid mass deportation efforts.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is a social
safety net that serves more than 42 million people nationwide. Under the
program formerly known as food stamps, the federal government pays 100%
of the food benefits, while the states determine who is eligible for the
benefits and then issue them to enrollees.
The Trump administration has worked to collect data on millions of U.S.
residents through various federal agencies, including the Internal
Revenue Service and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,
sharing the information with the Department of Homeland Security to
support deportation efforts. The USDA warned states in July that if they
failed to turn over the information about people enrolled in the federal
food assistance program, SNAP funding would be cut off.
In response, the coalition of states sued, saying they feared the data
would be used to aid mass deportations. They told the judge that the
federal SNAP Act requires states to safeguard the information they
receive from SNAP applicants, only releasing it for limited purposes
related to administering or enforcing the food assistance program.
[to top of second column]
|
Jaqueline Benitez, who depends on California's SNAP benefits to help
pay for food, shops for groceries at a supermarket in Bellflower,
Calif., Feb. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Allison Dinner, File)
In Thursday's ruling, Chesney said the states' argument was likely to
succeed, and that the USDA had already announced it planned to share the
data with other entities and use it for purposes not allowed by the SNAP
Act.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 20 directing
agencies to ensure “unfettered access to comprehensive data from all
state programs” as part of the administration’s effort to stop “ waste,
fraud and abuse by eliminating information silos.”
The case is at least the second lawsuit filed over the USDA's attempt to
collect SNAP information. Privacy and hunger relief groups and a handful
of people receiving food assistance benefits filed a similar lawsuit in
Washington, D.C., in May, but the federal judge in that case declined to
issue a preliminary injunction to stop the data collection.
Some states have already turned over the data.
___
Associated Press reporter Kimberly Kindy contributed.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
