By Dan Gooding and Gabe WhisnantShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberDemocratic attorneys general from 21 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Wednesday to stop the federal government from cutting off Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits for certain lawful immigrants, including refugees and people granted asylum.
The states say the administration is attempting to impose restrictions never approved by Congress and is putting vulnerable families at risk.
The challenge is the latest in a series of disputes between states and the federal government over the administration’s handling of SNAP. Earlier this year, the administration sought to pause the program during the government shutdown, prompting concern from anti-hunger advocates and state agencies that depend on federal funding to distribute monthly food allowances.
...The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Oregon, challenges guidance the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued to states on Oct. 31 outlining how to implement provisions of the recent tax and spending law. State officials contend the USDA’s instructions misrepresent what the law actually changed and go far beyond what Congress authorized. According to the complaint, the department’s guidance wrongly classifies “several groups of legal immigrants as ineligible for food assistance,” including lawful permanent residents who were admitted as refugees or granted asylum.
Attorneys general said they asked the USDA last week to revise or withdraw the guidance, but the agency did not respond. In the meantime, they said, state administrators were left scrambling to interpret instructions they believe are illegal and that could strip food aid from thousands of eligible households.
The states also argue that the USDA failed to give them adequate time to adjust their systems. Under federal rules, states typically receive 120 days to implement new eligibility requirements without facing significant financial penalties. But according to the lawsuit, the USDA gave states only one day to comply, leaving agencies without the ability to update computer systems, notify recipients or evaluate the consequences of the changes.
“The Trump administration continues to evade its responsibility to feed people, this time by targeting our immigrant communities,” Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said in a statement. “The administration’s unlawful guidance purports to require the states to terminate benefits for eligible families who desperately need them. I won’t stop fighting until this unlawful guidance is corrected to ensure all eligible SNAP recipients can access these essential benefits.”
State officials warn that the new penalties for providing benefits to groups the USDA now considers ineligible are so steep that states could be forced to halt their SNAP programs entirely if they fail to comply. That threat, they argue, underscores the urgency of blocking the guidance until a court can review it.
In addition to Oregon, the lawsuit was joined by California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.
Updates: 11/26/25, 2:35 p.m. ET: This article was updated with new information and remarks.
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.
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