Judges temporarily ban the federal government Collecting personal information Residents registered in Supplementary Nutrition Support Program 21 states and Washington DC
Maxine Chesney, a US district judge in California, said US Department of Agriculture He said a hearing will be held on Thursday and next month to determine whether a long-term ban is necessary.
Chesney found that personal data can only be used for food assistance programs, such as managing food assistance programs, and that it is likely to succeed in the argument that it cannot be shared with other entities in general. The state said it fears the data will be used to support massive deportation efforts.
Supplementary Nutrition Support Program, or Snap, It’s a social safety net It serves more than 42 million people nationwide. Formerly known as food stamps, the federal government pays 100% of food benefits, but the state decides who is eligible for the benefits and issues it to subscribers.
The Trump administration collects data on millions of US residents through a variety of federal agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and shares information with the Department of Homeland Security and with the Department of Foreign Security. The USDA warned the state in July that SNAP funds would be cut off if it failed to take over information about people registered with the Federal Food Aid Program.
In response, the state coalition was sued and said it feared that the data would be used to support mass deportation. They told the judges that the federal SNAP Act requires states to protect information received from SNAP applicants and require that they be made public for limited purposes related to the management or enforcement of food assistance programs.
in Thursday’s rulingChesney said the state’s debate is likely to be successful, and said the USDA has already announced it plans to share the data with other entities and use it for purposes not permitted by the SNAP Act.
President Donald Trump signed the executive order on March 20, as part of his administration’s efforts to ensure “free access to comprehensive data from programs in all states.” Waste, fraud, abuse By eliminating information silos. ”
The case is at least the second lawsuit over USDA’s attempt to gather SNAP information. Privacy and Hungry Relief Groups, and a handful of people receiving food aid He filed a similar lawsuit In Washington, D.C., a federal judge in that case refused to issue a provisional injunction to halt data collection.
Some states have already taken over the data. ___ Associated Press Reporter Kimberly Kindy contributed.
