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21 States and D.C. Sue USDA to Block SNAP Memo They Say Illegally Bars Legal Immigrants

Plaintiffs say the Oct. 31 directive misreads Congress’s changes by permanently disqualifying humanitarian immigrants even after they become lawful permanent residents.

Stock image/file photo: SNAP and EBT accepted here sign.
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FILE — Apples at Mi Tierra fruit market in the Bronx, Oct. 30, 2025. The Trump administration says refugees and asylum seekers can never get food stamps, but attorneys general from New York and nearly two dozen other states say that is unlawful. (Marco Postigo Storel/The New York Times)
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Overview

  • The multistate coalition filed the case in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Oregon, seeking a preliminary injunction to vacate and halt the guidance.
  • States argue the USDA memo goes beyond the One Big Beautiful Bill by treating refugees, asylees and other humanitarian entrants as permanently ineligible even after obtaining green cards.
  • Plaintiffs say the agency wrongly eliminated the standard 120‑day implementation window, telling states the period had already expired the day after the memo was issued.
  • Officials warn of operational disruption and steep fiscal exposure, with New York estimating about 35,000 residents could lose benefits and potential fines reaching up to $1.2 billion.
  • The lawsuit says the guidance omits exemptions for groups such as certain Afghan and Ukrainian parolees, Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrants, and trafficking victims, while the USDA declined to comment on the pending case.