California is taking the Trump administration to court again, this time over the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s demands for the personal information of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients.
The Trump Administration is demanding recipients’ sensitive data, including social security numbers and addresses, dating back to 2020, according to Attorney General Rob Bonta.
Bonta Monday called the “unprecedented” demand an “illegal data grab,” designed “to scare people away from public assistance.”
“Let’s be clear, this demand isn’t about preventing waste, fraud and abuse,” Bonta said. “It’s about weaponizing government data to intimidate vulnerable communities.”
SNAP, a food assistance program that offers benefits to low-income families, requires applicants to provide personal information to ensure eligibility. Five million Californians received support from the program in 2024, according to data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The program served over 41 million people nationally last year.
In May, USDA requested “unfettered access to comprehensive data” from SNAP to ensure its services are being administered “appropriately and lawfully.” States were given until July 30 to comply.
The agency last week expanded its request to include more personal data points, including recipients’ immigration status and other household members, according to its Privacy Impact Assessment released Thursday.
The lawsuit, announced Monday by Bonta and New York Attorney General Letitia James, claims the USDA’s actions violate federal privacy laws, fail to meet public comment requirements, exceed statutory authority and violate the Spending Clause.
Attorneys general from 19 other Democrat-led states joined Bonta and James in asking the court to block the agency’s demand. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
According to USDA data, about 273,000 noncitizens in California received support from SNAP in 2022, with 1.4 million noncitizens receiving support nationwide.
This is the state’s 35th lawsuit against Trump in 27 weeks, Bonta said. Earlier in July, California and 19 other states sued the administration for allegedly misusing private Medicaid personal data for immigration enforcement purposes.