A group of 20 states filed a Monday lawsuit against the Trump administration to prevent the government from collecting personal data from food stamp recipients.
The coalition of lawyers argues the effort violates privacy laws by requesting individuals’ immigration status, birthdates and home addresses, according to the Associated Press.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said at a Monday press conference those identified would become “targets in the president’s inhumane immigration agenda,” AP reported.
“This isn’t about oversight and transparency,” Banta said, according to NPR.
“This is about establishing widespread surveillance under the guise of fighting fraud. We can call it what it is, an illegal data grab designed to scare people away from public assistance programs.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and the USDA’s Office of Inspector General are named as defendants in the lawsuit, per the outlet.
The USDA and the USDA Economic Research Service did not respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
In May, Rollins said these steps would ensure that food stamps, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), “is preserved for only those eligible.”
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) were asked to share personal information with the Department of Homeland Security to help them conduct immigration enforcement, AP reported.
The Trump administration has previously threatened to withhold funding from states that do not provide the requested data.
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