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1h ago

Judge Halts USDA Push for SNAP Applicants’ Personal Data in 21 States and D.C.

The ruling says states are likely to prevail on claims that federal law confines SNAP data to program administration.

FILE - Jaqueline Benitez, who depends on California's SNAP benefits to help pay for food, shops for groceries at a supermarket in Bellflower, Calif., Feb. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Allison Dinner, File)
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Overview

  • U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney issued a temporary restraining order blocking the USDA from collecting SNAP applicant information from 21 states and Washington, D.C.
  • The Northern District of California judge set a hearing next month to consider whether to extend the prohibition.
  • Chesney signaled the states are likely to succeed by finding the SNAP Act limits use of applicant data to running the program and generally bars broader sharing.
  • States sued after a July USDA directive sought multi-year records and warned of cutting administrative funding for noncompliance.
  • Plaintiffs fear the data could be shared with Homeland Security for immigration enforcement as the administration pursues wider data access under a March 20 executive order, while a separate D.C. case earlier failed to secure an injunction and some states have already turned over records.