Overview
- New York Attorney General Letitia James leads a 21-state coalition that filed suit in federal court in Oregon seeking to vacate and block the USDA’s Oct. 31 guidance.
- The USDA memo lists refugees, people granted asylum, and humanitarian parolees as not eligible for SNAP and does not state eligibility for those who later hold green cards.
- Plaintiffs argue the directive exceeds statutory limits by effectively making people who entered through humanitarian programs permanently ineligible even after becoming lawful permanent residents.
- State officials say the guidance forces rapid eligibility-system changes with only one day of lead time instead of the usual 120 days and risks steep penalties, with James estimating up to $1.2 billion in exposure for New York and benefits losses for about 35,000 residents there.
- The coalition says it asked USDA last week to correct the guidance, and the agency did not respond, and USDA did not immediately comment on the lawsuit.