At least 27 states have shared sensitive food stamp data with USDA: NPR

Since late July, most Democratic-led states have refused to give in to an unprecedented demand from the Trump administration to hand over personal information about federal food aid recipients dating back to 2020, including their names, dates of birth, home addresses, Social Security numbers and benefit amounts.

However, most states with a Republican governor have already complied. NPR reports found that at least 27 states have already shared data on millions of people who receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP.

Every month, approximately 42 million Americans rely on SNAP, which used to be known as food stamps. USDA has framed the demand for data as essential to achieving the Trump administration’s goal of identifying and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse.

Democratic state officials have argued that the request for the data is illegal and likely part of a pattern of the Trump administration collecting Americans’ personal data for purposes including Immigration enforcement.

Those states scored a victory in court Wednesday when U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney in San Francisco filed a preliminary order preventing the Trump administration from punishing her for refusing to hand over SNAP data.

The ruling means that with the case ongoing, the Trump administration cannot legally follow through on threats to withhold SNAP administrative funds that add up to billions of dollars annually from the 21 states and the District of Columbia that are parties to the lawsuit and have not shared data.

Chesney wrote in her 25-page order that the states are likely to succeed on their claim that “USDA, in requesting such data, acted in violation of the law,” and “states are likely to show that the SNAP Act prohibits them from disclosing to USDA the requested information.”

Wednesday’s order reinforces a temporary restraining order issued by Chesney last month.

“Let’s be absolutely clear: The President is trying to hijack a feeding program to fuel his mass surveillance agenda,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement in response to the court’s order. “The Trump administration can try whatever it wants to strong-arm countries into illegally handing over data, but we know the rule of law is on our side.”

Neither the USDA nor the Justice Department, which represents the agency in the lawsuit, responded to NPR’s request for comment.

The controversy over SNAP recipient data comes at a time when the program is struggling The deepest piece in historyin addition to changes in eligibility requirements and More costs for states Which was provided for in the tax and spending bill that Trump signed in July.

Unprecedented demand for data

The USDA notified states in May that for the first time they would be required to turn over personal data on SNAP recipients dating back to 2020. Executive order signed by President Donald Trump in March Provides that federal agencies must ensure that the federal government has “unrestricted access” to data from state programs that receive federal funds to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.

In the past, the federal government reviewed and sampled state data without collecting and centralizing applicants’ personal information. Federal law states that SNAP recipient data can only be used for purposes related to SNAP administration, with only limited exceptions.

But questions remain about the Trump administration’s plans and whether SNAP data will be used to further the goal of tracking immigrants and ramping up deportations. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for SNAP, but parents of U.S. citizens can sign up for benefits for their children regardless of their immigration status.

An official in the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services He wrote in court files That her government agency tried to negotiate a data-sharing agreement with the USDA, but “USDA did not respond [the state agency’s] Questions about how USDA intends to use the data, how and when the data will be shared with other federal agencies, or what security protocols will be in place if the data is shared with other federal agencies.”

The USDA threatened states that did not comply that they would not receive the federal funds they depend on to administer SNAP.

The Trump administration’s data demands and threats to withhold funds “are completely inconsistent with professional standards for how federal-state relations work, representing a really stark contrast to a long-standing pattern of the relationship between federal and state agencies,” said Philip Rocco, a political scientist at Marquette University.

States are also sparring with the Trump administration in federal court over Justice Department demands for state voter roll data, as well as disputes over… Decision of federal health officials To share states’ Medicaid data with DHS without states’ consent.

Data from millions has already been shared

Most Republican-led states have completed the SNAP data transfer, as has North Carolina, which has a Democratic governor. Eight states transferred the data fields they shared to NPR, and answers varied by state.

Vermont officials told NPR that they sent SNAP recipient names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and home addresses dating back to January 2020, while other states that responded sent these data fields and more.

Nebraska provided 12.5 million lines of data for more than 437,500 people that also included information about income, family size, utility costs and child support deductions, among other details, according to information provided by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to NPR in a public records request.

Ohio sent data for about 3.1 million individuals, and Texas for more than 3.7 million people, officials from both states told NPR.

Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming have also complied with the data transfer by August 12, according to USDA court filings.

NPR was told separately by officials in Idaho, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee that they have either complied or are in the process of implementing it. Florida officials did not respond to NPR’s questions about whether the state shared the data.

The 27 states that have complied or are in the process of implementing had more than 15.7 million people enrolled in SNAP in May, according to USDA data, or nearly 38% of the program’s total enrollees.

What the USDA says about how it uses state data

In a public notice the USDA published in June about its data collection plan, it gave itself broad authority to share SNAP data, such as when a record indicates “a violation or potential violation of law” for disclosure “to the appropriate agency, whether federal, foreign, state, local, or tribal.”

Chesney, the federal judge in the lawsuit, wrote in her order that such uses of the data were “far beyond those permitted” under federal law.

What is known so far is that the USDA runs SNAP recipients’ information through a Department of Homeland Security data system known as SAVE, according to statements USDA official Sheila Corley made in court filings. SAVE was originally developed to verify the immigration status of foreign-born individuals to verify their eligibility for certain benefits.

The Trump administration recently overhauled the SAVE system so it can also verify the citizenship of many U.S.-born citizens and show whether Social Security records list the person as deceased. (The SAVE changes are also the subject of a recent lawsuit.)

The USDA has not yet released its findings from SAVE. Corley did describes In court filings are other findings from the initial review of state data. She wrote that the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service found “several types of fraud, waste, and abuse that had not been detected before the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) obtained data of the type withheld by the plaintiff states.”

The audit found households receiving multiple payments, 300,000 “potential cases of deceased individuals” enrolled in SNAP, nearly 4,000 individuals excluded from SNAP who are still receiving benefits, and more than 500,000 cases of “fake” Social Security numbers, according to Corley.

But officials from California and Illinois He responded in court filings It was Corley’s analysis Lacks essential details and context To be able to draw conclusions, and that there can be legitimate explanations for much of what I have described. In addition, there is a tool known as National Accuracy Clearinghouse It is being introduced to prevent people from receiving SNAP benefits in multiple states.

Concerns about wrongful allegations of fraud

A Vermont resident who relies on SNAP and receives disability because of a health condition that leaves her unable to work told NPR she was frustrated that her governor agreed to hand over her data because she didn’t trust what the federal government would do with it or that it would remain safe.

She spoke to NPR on the condition of anonymity because she fears government retaliation for her comments, including losing her benefits.

She said she was already “terrified” that she or a case worker might make a simple paperwork error regarding her benefits that could lead to penalties like fines or worse, and now she’s concerned that the USDA might use the new data to accuse her and other SNAP beneficiaries of fraud.

“I never lived in fear of the system that supported me because there were already huge penalties for making mistakes,” the SNAP recipient said.

She said she’s skeptical that the government’s main goal is to use SNAP data to cut wasteful spending given that the administration has extended tax cuts to the wealthy as well as the wealthy. Efforts to close tax shelters were halted It is used by the richest people and major companies in the country.

“It’s not about preventing waste, by any means,” she said. “Because we are cents on the dollar.”