California Attorney General Rob Bonta today filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) recent guidance illegally restricting eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP provides monthly food benefits to low-income families in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In California, SNAP, known as the CalFresh Program, is administered by the California Department of Social Services and is an essential hunger safety net to 5.5 million Californians each month. In the lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta, along with a coalition of 21 other attorneys general, argue that USDA’s guidance for implementing the “Big Beautiful Bill” erroneously excludes certain lawfully residing non-citizens from SNAP eligibility, when they in fact are eligible when they become lawful permanent residents. The attorneys general raise the alarm that, without court intervention, the guidance will cause errors in eligibility determinations, which could deprive thousands of legal permanent residents of food assistance and lead to devastating financial penalties for states.
“The Trump Administration is effectively depriving thousands of lawful permanent residents of food assistance benefits that Congress intended be available,” said Attorney General Bonta. “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 ever worked harder to deprive hungry Americans of access to basic nutrition. Ahead of the holidays, we’re not giving up the fight. We’re asking a court to step in and stop the USDA from applying its faulty new guidance before any further damage can be done.”