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NY sues Trump administration to block collection of food stamp recipients' personal data
By
Karen Yi
Published Jul 28, 2025
Modified Jul 29, 2025
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Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
By
Karen Yi
Published Jul 28, 2025
Modified Jul 29, 2025
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A coalition of states including New York has sued the Trump administration, seeking to block a federal agency from collecting personal information on food stamp recipients — including their Social Security numbers and immigration status.
States have until July 30 to send the U.S. Department of Agriculture data for all SNAP beneficiaries for the last five years, or else risk losing federal funding. It will be up to a judge whether to extend that deadline.
Officials from 20 states and Washington, D.C. filed the suit Monday in a U.S. district court in California. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the suit argues the Trump administration’s unprecedented request for personal data is an “illegal data grab” that violated federal privacy laws.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said the request for data was an “outrageous” way to target immigrant families and boost the administration’s deportation numbers.
“They are basically trying to weaponize the SNAP program against immigrant communities in violation of the law. And we collectively will not stand for it,” said James, who last week also sued the Trump administration over its efforts to bar undocumented immigrants from accessing social welfare programs that don’t screen for immigration status and provide mental health, emergency food or child care services.
“We will not allow this life saving program to be illegally used to hunt down immigrants and their families,” James said.
New Jersey and Connecticut are among the states joining the lawsuit.
The USDA deferred questions to the Department of Justice, which declined comment Monday.
The lawsuit comes as the Trump administration has expanded its data-sharing agreements with immigration officials to bolster its enforcement and deportation goals. The Associated Press reported Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be given access to the personal information of Medicaid enrollees in order to find people living in the U.S. without legal status. Though undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid, they can temporarily sign up for Emergency Medicaid for lifesaving treatment during emergency room visits.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, serves nearly 3 million people in New York state, and a record 1.8 million in New York City. About half a million recipients in the city are children. While immigrants without legal status are not eligible for SNAP, they can apply on behalf of their citizen children.
The USDA has previously said the data request is part of the administration's broader efforts to root out what President Donald Trump called "waste, fraud and abuse" in an executive order. The agency first issued a letter May 6, stating it planned to collect the personal information on SNAP recipients and applicants dating back to Jan. 1, 2020.
In new documents issued last week, the USDA added more categories to the personal information it was seeking including a person’s immigration status, education and marital status, NPR reported.
Trump’s tax-cut-and-spending bill will already overhaul SNAP, with state and city officials warning thousands will be kicked off their benefits due to stricter work rules or receive much less every month. The changes also shift more of the cost of the program, which has always been covered by the federal government, to states and individual districts.
This story has been updated to reflect that the lawsuit has been filed.
Tagged
economy
immigration
new york city
Karen Yi
Karen Yi covers homelessness and poverty. She joined the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom in 2020. Before that, Karen covered Newark for the Star-Ledger and spent almost a decade working for newspapers in New Jersey and Florida. She grew up in Miami and has a dog named Cashew. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-589-1460.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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