WASHINGTON (AP) – A coalition of 20 state attorney generals submitted Litigation On Monday, their state challenged the Trump administration’s request to hand over personal data from people who have registered with the federally funded food aid program, fearing that the information will be used to support massive deportations.
The demand for data comes as the Trump administration tried to collect personal information about primarily low-income people who could be illegally in the country. It already has the Internal Revenue Service Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services We will share personal information with the Department of Homeland Security to support deportation efforts.
US Department of Agriculture I told the state Until last week and Wednesday, it will either hand over data from people enrolled in the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program or serve more than 42 million people nationwide. The USDA said this data will help combat waste, fraud and abuse.
The state lawsuit seeks an injunction blocking data transfers. In the meantime, the state attorney general in the SNAP case said they would not disclose what they deemed to be personal information of the recipient, such as the status of the immigrant, date of birth and address of their home, as they believe they are a violation of privacy laws.
“It’s the worst kind of bait and switch,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said he announced the lawsuit at a press conference Monday afternoon. “SNAP recipients provided this information to help support their families so that they do not enter into government surveillance databases or be used as targets for the President’s inhumane immigration agenda.”
In May, The division has been announced As part of President Donald Trump’s executive order, he wanted data to retrieve data from the state’s programs to eradicate fraud and waste. “For years, the program has been on Autopilot that has not gained USDA insight into real-time data,” USDA’s Brook L. Rollins said in a statement at the time. “The department is focused on proper and legitimate participation in SNAP, and today’s requests are one of many steps to ensure that SNAP stores only eligible.”
USDA officials declined to request a comment on the lawsuit.
The USDA did not mention immigration enforcement in its announcement Or subsequent notifications. It is not clear why USDA officials believe that data can help eliminate fraud and abuse. Agent claim The program is already “one of the federal government’s most rigorous quality control systems.”
Immigration advocates pointed out that the Trump administration used the same argument to obtain other sensitive data, but later admitted that it would use that information to intensify its deportation campaign. For example, Trump administration officials initially claimed they were seeking state Medicaid data to combat fraud. Last week, the top immigration officers allowed the same information to be used to find immigrants.
Agent officials are threatening to withhold SNAP funds if the state fails to comply with data requests.
Immigrants without legal status are not eligible to receive SNAP benefits, but they can apply on behalf of a child who is a US citizen or a child who is part of a mixed-status household.
Under the program previously known as food stamps, the federal government pays 100% of its food benefits, but the state helps cover administrative costs. The state is also responsible for determining whether an individual is eligible for the benefit and issuing those benefits to the registrant.
Immigration and data privacy advocates have warned the Trump administration’s efforts to obtain sensitive SNAP data maintained by the state.
“The administration says it is intended to combine this data and use it for illegal purposes, including immigration enforcement,” said Madeline Wiseman, lawyer for the National Student Legal Defense Network. Litigation In May, the Privacy and Hanger Relief Group also took on USDA’s efforts to address SNAP data.
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