Current Trends
Key Point The coalition of 20 state attorneys general is actively challenging the Trump administration’s demand for personal data of people enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, due to concerns that this information could be used to facilitate mass deportations rather than just preventing fraud.
Key Developments
Anecdote Imagine you are a family struggling to put food on the table, applying for SNAP benefits to ensure your children do not go hungry.
Latest Updates
You provide sensitive personal information trusting it will be used solely to help feed your family.
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Now, imagine a federal demand mandates states to hand over that very data to assist in immigration enforcement—turning your effort to seek assistance into a potential risk for your family’s safety and privacy.
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Emotion This situation generates a profound sense of betrayal and fear among millions of SNAP recipients, particularly immigrant families.
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The promise of support feels overshadowed by the threat of surveillance and deportation.
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California Attorney General ROI Bonta captured this sentiment by calling the administration’s move “a bait-and – switch of the worst kind, ” emphasizing how recipients did not expect their private data to become a tool in an “inhumane immigration agenda”
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Data The USDA demands data from the SNAP program, which serves more than 42 million people nationwide, to “combat waste, fraud and abuse”
However, SNAP is described by the USDA itself as having “one of the most rigorous quality control systems in the federal government” already in place.
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In May 2025, USDA Secretary Brooke L.
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Rollins stated that the department was seeking real-time data to ensure lawful participation following an executive order by President Donald Trump.
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