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🍞Twenty states sue Trump over food stamp data demand

Health Care & Public Health
Civil Rights
Ethics & Government Accountability

Twenty states filed lawsuit July 29, 2025, challenging the Trump administration's demand for sensitive personal information of all SNAP (food stamp) recipients nationwide. The Agriculture Department wants names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and household composition of low-income families, raising fears the data will be used for immigration enforcement or benefit cuts. California AG Bonta called it an "illegal fishing expedition."

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Key Takeaways

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Why This Matters

Food assistance becomes deportation trap for families feeding hungry children

SNAP data shared with ICE means your address gets raided if you apply for help buying groceries.

Forty million Americans' private information becomes political targeting list

Low-income families' data gets weaponized for voter suppression and harassment by benefit status.

Families choose starvation over government surveillance

Parents skip meals rather than risk data collection that could separate families through immigration enforcement.

Apply through legal aid organizations that shield your information from feds

Nonprofits can protect your privacy—never apply directly through government websites.

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Detailed Content

1

How would you categorize (1) the types of personal data the USDA demanded from SNAP recipients in May 2025, (2) the Trump administration’s stated justifications for collecting that data, and (3) the primary arguments opponents raised against the program?

Categorize
Digital Rights & Cybersecurity
2

How many years of SNAP data did the USDA demand, by what deadline, and under which March 20, 2025, executive order—"Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos"—calling for "unfettered access" to state program data? ([npr.org](https://www.npr.org/2025/06/03/nx-s1-5422265/snap-usda-data-lawsuit-privacy?utm_source=chatgpt.com), [reuters.com](https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trump-effort-build-food-aid-recipient-database-unlawful-lawmakers-say-2025-07-17/), [whitehouse.gov](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

Fill in Blanks
Digital Rights & Cybersecurity
3

While undocumented immigrants have never been eligible for SNAP benefits, U.S. citizen children can qualify regardless of their parents’ immigration status (Food and Nutrition Service, June 2, 2025), and the Trump administration has revoked protections for certain lawfully present immigrant categories, including those holding Temporary Protected Status (USCIS, May 12, 2025; DHS, Feb. 20, 2025).

Fill in Blanks
Immigration
4

As of July 29, 2025, how many states and the District of Columbia filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to block USDA’s May 6, 2025 directive requiring states to share five years of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients’ personal data?

Multiple Choice
Digital Rights & Cybersecurity
5

As of April 2025, how many Americans receive SNAP benefits each month?

Multiple Choice
Health Care & Public Health
6

Which executive order (number, title, and date) did USDA cite to justify demanding “unfettered access” to state program data?

Multiple Choice
Digital Rights & Cybersecurity
7

According to the California Department of Social Services and the Legislative Analyst’s Office, how much did California allocate in fiscal year 2024-25 to disburse CalFresh (the state’s SNAP program) benefits to eligible residents?

Multiple Choice
Health Care & Public Health
8

How did the Biden administration’s USDA Food and Nutrition Service structure its SNAP and WIC computer systems to protect participant privacy?

Multiple Choice
Digital Rights & Cybersecurity
9

As a state attorney general responding to the USDA’s July 29, 2025 directive—under threat of losing SNAP funding—to turn over names, addresses, Social Security numbers, immigration status and household composition of all SNAP recipients, how would you protect low-income families’ privacy while avoiding a cutoff of federal food assistance?

Scenario
Digital Rights & Cybersecurity
10

"A coalition of 20 states and Washington, D.C. filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on July 28, 2025, challenging the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s requirement—pursuant to Executive Order ‘Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos’ (March 20, 2025)—that states turn over five years’ worth of SNAP recipients’ names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, immigration and employment status under threat of funding cuts. As a privacy advocate, what specific legal and political strategies can you employ to support this litigation and protect SNAP recipients’ personal data?"

Scenario
Civic Action
11

Why did California Attorney General Rob Bonta call the USDA’s May 2025 demand for SNAP recipients’ personal data a “bait-and-switch of the worst kind” ?

Short Answer
Digital Rights & Cybersecurity
12

Arrange in chronological order the following developments in the federal government’s SNAP data surveillance: 1. Executive Order 14218 “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders” (Feb. 19, 2025) 2. Executive Order 14243 “Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos” (Mar. 20, 2025) 3. USDA’s early May 2025 demand that states hand over names, dates of birth, addresses and Social Security numbers of all SNAP applicants and recipients by July 30, 2025 4. USDA’s June 23, 2025 Systems of Record Notice for the proposed SNAP recipient database 5. The July 29, 2025 lawsuit by a coalition of 20 states led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta challenging the USDA data demand

Timeline
Digital Rights & Cybersecurity
13

Are immigrants without lawful status (undocumented non-citizens) eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits? ([fns.usda.gov](https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/recipient/eligibility/non-citizen?utm_source=chatgpt.com), [law.cornell.edu](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/7/273.4?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

True/False
Immigration
14

Did the U.S. Department of Agriculture initially claim that its SNAP data request was solely intended to combat waste, fraud, and abuse?

True/False
Immigration
15

Did the USDA receive over 450 public comments on its proposed July 2025 Systems of Record Notice for SNAP data collection, with most comments opposing the plan? ([nhpr.org](https://www.nhpr.org/politics/2025-07-28/states-sue-usda-over-efforts-to-gather-food-stamp-data-on-tens-of-millions-of-people?utm_source=chatgpt.com), [hawaiipublicradio.org](https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/national-international/2025-07-28/states-sue-usda-over-efforts-to-gather-food-stamp-data-on-tens-of-millions-of-people?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

True/False
Digital Rights & Cybersecurity
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