Connecticut Attorney General William Tong has joined 21 other state attorneys general to sue the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over new “unlawful” Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) rules that would make certain immigrants ineligible for the program regardless of legal status, according to a Nov. 26 press release.
The USDA issued a memo on Oct. 31 describing changes to SNAP eligibility under the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which limited eligibility for certain non-citizen groups. This includes “refugees, asylum recipients, and others admitted under humanitarian protection programs,” according to the press release.
However, according to the press release, the USDA’s memo “incorrectly asserted that all individuals who entered the country through these humanitarian pathways would remain permanently ineligible for SNAP,” which would persist regardless of individuals obtaining a green card or becoming lawful permanent residents.
“The Trump Administration cannot help themselves,” Tong said in the press release. “They are messing with SNAP benefits again. This time they are inventing their own rules to permanently ban legal immigrants—green card holders—from ever receiving food stamps. There is zero basis in the law for this cruel move, and we’re suing to stop them.”
According to the press release, the narrowing eligibility for these groups is not mentioned in the OBBB or in any other federal law.
“Federal statutes make clear that refugees, asylees, humanitarian parolees, individuals whose deportation has been withheld, and other vulnerable legal immigrants become eligible for SNAP once they obtain their green cards and meet standard program requirements,” the press release states.
The release also cites the misapplication of the agency’s regulations as an inciting factor in the lawsuit.
“Federal rules give states a 120-day grace period after new guidance is issued to adjust their systems without facing severe financial penalties,” the release states. “USDA is now claiming that this period expired on November 1, just one day after the guidance was released and before states even had a single business day to review it.”
According to the release, states could face “major financial penalties” without the 120-day grace period.
“[B]ecause the statute also imposes a cost-shifting framework on the SNAP program for states that USDA determines have unacceptable error rates in administering the program, by disregarding its own rules, USDA is exposing states to major financial penalties for errors caused by the agency’s late and inaccurate memo,” the release states.
The release warned of the negative impacts that the new rules may have.
“USDA’s abrupt and incorrect guidance now forces [states] to overhaul eligibility systems overnight,” the release states. “The attorneys general warn that this will create widespread confusion for families, increase the risk of wrongful benefit terminations, erode public trust, and place states in an untenable situation where they must either violate federal law or accept severe financial liability.”
The lawsuit was started by the New York and Oregon attorneys general. Tong joined the lawsuit along with attorneys general from California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.