By Daniel Wiessner
(Reuters) -A group of U.S. states has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the administration of President Donald Trump from requiring them to hand over information on millions of people who receive food stamp benefits.
The 20 mostly Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C., said the Trump administration’s efforts to amass a database of food stamp recipients to check their immigration status and identify fraud violate federal privacy laws and the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit was filed in a federal court in California on Monday.
About 42 million people receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which is largely funded by the federal government and administered by states. Immigrants in the United States illegally are not eligible for SNAP.
The states in their lawsuit say that federal privacy laws and rules governing state food stamp programs bar them from disclosing applicants’ personal information.
“You don’t promise to help someone eat, then punish them for sitting at the table,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, said at a press conference.
New York, Michigan, Illinois and New Jersey are among the other states that joined the lawsuit.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP, said it does not comment on pending litigation.
The department said in June that it would gather information from states to build the database with the goal of reducing waste and strengthening SNAP, and in keeping with Trump’s directives to promote data-sharing across the federal government.
The data sought by the department includes the Social Security numbers, immigration status and other information of people who have received, are receiving or have applied to receive SNAP benefits, according to agency documents. States could lose SNAP funding if they refuse to comply.
The massive U.S. tax cut and policy bill approved by Congress earlier this month makes various changes and cuts to SNAP, including requiring states to partially fund benefits and imposing work requirements and time limits.
(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
