New York AG Letitia James Leads Multi-State Lawsuit Against Trump Administration Over SNAP Data Demands
New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday said she is helping lead a group of 20 Democratic attorneys general in suing the Trump administration over its demands that they turn over information about food stamp recipients and applicants in their state—an effort she excoriated as a "dangerous and illegal overreach" by the administration to unlawfully locate and track down illegal immigrants.
The lawsuit, led by James, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, comes after the Trump administration demanded states turn over detailed personal information related to recipients and applicants of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, before July 30.
The Trump administration has threatened to withhold SNAP funding from states who fail to comply with the July 30 deadline—teeing up a high-stakes, eleventh-hour court clash between Trump officials and leaders from 20 Democratic-led states.
Speaking to reporters on a press call Monday, James and other attorneys general took umbrage with the new SNAP data-sharing requirement, describing it as an "illegal data grab" designed to intimidate vulnerable communities and help track down migrants who might be subject to deportation.
"This administration is attempting to use this program as a tool in their cruel and chaotic targeting of immigrants," James said.
TRUMP FOE LETITIA JAMES LEADING CHARGE ON NEW MULTISTATE LAWSUIT OVER HHS CUTS
The lawsuit is not the first time James, a longtime Trump foe, has sparred with Trump in court since the start of his second presidential term.
To date, she's joined Democratic attorneys general in more than a dozen other lawsuits challenging his early actions.
Bonta, for his part, described the USDA's new demands as a cruel bait-and-switch from the Trump administration.
He noted that the data the administration is allegedly attempting to mine comes from a decades-old aid program designed to help ensure that low-income families have access to food.
"SNAP recipients provided this information to get help to feed their families—not to be entered into a government surveillance database, or be used as targets for the president's inhumane immigration agenda," Bonta said on Tuesday.
"This kind of targeting doesn't make America safer. It threatens kids' access to school meals, it jeopardizes wildfire survivors' access to relief," he added.
"And it sends a chilling message: if you reach out for help, you may be punished for it."
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Since his inauguration in January, Bonta noted, Democrat-led states have filed 35 lawsuits against the Trump administration.
Bonta said Monday that the USDA requirement is a "clear violation" of the "Spending Clause, federal privacy statutes, and the USDA's own authority," prompting them to file suit.
"President Trump made promises to the American people and now he's breaking them," the group said Monday.
"He's rewriting the rules, targeting the most vulnerable and expecting states to fall in line."