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

A coalition of 20 states and Washington, D.C. announced a new 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.

The new federal lawsuit, led by Democratic attorneys general from California and New York, argues the unprecedented data demand violates various federal privacy laws and the Constitution, according to a news release about the suit. The states are asking a judge to block USDA from withholding funds from states that do not turn over the data.

“President Trump continues to weaponize private and sensitive personal information – not to root out fraud, but to create a culture of fear where people are unwilling to apply for essential services,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta in a statement.

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

“This unprecedented demand that states turn over SNAP data violates all kinds of state and federal privacy laws and further breaks the trust between the federal government and the people it serves,” Bonta said.

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 argued it needs those details to verify the integrity of the SNAP program to ensure enrollees are eligible. The department 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.

Some states had indicated they planned to comply with USDA’s request, though it is unclear how many states will meet the July 30 deadline.

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