Attorneys general sue to keep SNAP for legal immigrants

“This guidance reads like someone took notes from the Grinch, taking food from families during the holidays,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta told reporters Wednesday during a virtual news conference, which also featured attorneys general from Massachusetts, Oregon and Minnesota.

“California will not stand by while families lose access to food because of unlawful federal action," Bonta said. "So we’re taking Trump to court.”

The new USDA guidance deprives tens of thousands of lawful permanent residents across the U.S. of help, Bonta said, adding, “SNAP recipients are still recovering from the whiplash President Trump and his administration put them through in seeking to block November SNAP benefits during the government shutdown.”

“No president has fought harder to deprive hungry Americans from food,” he said, later adding, “No group of attorneys general has fought harder to make sure they are fed.”

Although the Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminated SNAP eligibility for individuals who entered the U.S. as refugees or were granted asylum or humanitarian parole, it did not end the eligibility for noncitizens who became legal permanent residents, Bonta said. He added that under the federal law, refugees and people granted asylum or humanitarian parole become eligible for SNAP once they become legal permanent residents.

The lawsuit says the USDA guidance is contrary to the law, is arbitrary and capricious, and violates the Administrative Procedure Act. 

The suit seeks a preliminary injunction to ensure families don’t go hungry, Bonta said.

Answering a question from The Center Square, Bonta said a federal court ruling could come in a matter of days or even immediately, depending on the judge. “We’ve sought restraining orders and secured them on the same day we file.”

The attorneys general are asking the U.S. District Court to rule as soon as possible, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said.

In the meantime, Massachusetts is working with food pantries and community organizations to keep families fed until a ruling is issued, Campbell said, answering a question from The Center Square. “So food pantries and many folks are working overtime to close the gap.”

Other attorneys general said their states were taking similar actions.

“The state and food banks have been stepping up to provide more support,” Bonta said about California.

Campbell, meanwhile, told The Center Square the coalition of attorneys general succeeded during previous efforts to preserve SNAP benefits.

“We were successful, this coalition, when we fought the Trump administration the first time during the government shutdown, to make sure SNAP benefits would continue to flow for the month of November and to ensure all folks in our respective states would see benefits in November and not partial but full benefits,” Campbell said. 

Bonta said the attorneys general previously wrote a letter to the USDA, believing the department simply made a mistake in its guidance.

“We gave them a chance to start over,” Bonta said, but added, “The USDA’s silence in response tells us everything we need to know.” He said the new guidance was deliberate.

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield told reporters that no one in the U.S., one of the world's wealthiest countries, should go hungry.

And President Donald Trump must follow the law, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said during the news conference. Trump is welcome to try to get Congress to change a law that he doesn’t like, Ellison said, but added, “We won’t let him rule by fiat. We won’t let him break the law.”

Attorneys general said Wednesday’s lawsuit is the 48th one in California and Oregon against the Trump administration. For Minnesota and Massachusetts, it’s the 45th and 43rd one respectively.

Democratic attorneys general are winning more than 80% of their legal actions against the federal government, Bonta said, answering questions from The Center Square. He added he doesn’t anticipate that the latest lawsuit over SNAP will end up in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Besides California, Oregon, Massachusetts and Minnesota, Wednesday's lawsuit was filed by New York, Colorado, Connecticut, 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.