Overview
- U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai in Oregon moved the states’ SNAP grace period from November 1 to April 9, 2026, and blocked USDA from penalizing states over errors tied to its October 31 guidance.
- Attorneys general from 21 states and the District of Columbia sued, arguing USDA’s guidance unlawfully excluded some lawful permanent residents, including former refugees and asylees, contrary to the statute.
- USDA issued revised guidance on December 9 clarifying that certain lawfully residing noncitizens remain eligible once they become lawful permanent residents, but it insisted the compliance window had already closed.
- Kasubhai found USDA’s deadline position unlawful and inconsistent with past practice, agreeing that failing to extend the grace period would cause irreparable budget harm to the states.
- Plaintiffs warned that following the initial guidance could have cut off benefits for up to 35,000 lawful permanent residents and exposed New York alone to as much as $1.2 billion in fines, and the broader lawsuit remains active.