New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing the Trump administration over federal food assistance benefits again, this time arguing the federal government’s latest guidance unlawfully deprives green card holders of the aid.
James is leading the suit and is joined by 21 other states, including New Jersey. She said she wants to stop the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, from forcing states to cut off benefits from permanent residents previously granted asylum or admitted as refugees.
“The federal government’s shameful quest to take food away from children and families continues,” James said in a statement. “USDA has no authority to arbitrarily cut entire groups of people out of the SNAP program, and no one should go hungry because of the circumstances of their arrival to this country.”
The USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The agency on Oct. 31 issued guidance to states on how to implement parts of the Trump administration’s tax-and-spending measure signed this summer that bans refugees and asylees from benefits. James said the guidance asked states to go further than the law by kicking off those who were granted asylum or refugee status but are now permanent residents.
According to a USDA memo detailing which immigrant groups are eligible for SNAP, refugees, humanitarian parolees and individuals granted asylum are listed as “not eligible.” The document does not say they’re eligible if they hold a green card.
James said 35,000 permanent residents in New York state could be cut off from their benefits. She added that if states don’t comply with the USDA guidance they could face steep financial penalties, including as much as $1.2 billion in New York.
About 3 million New Yorkers, including 1.8 million in New York City, rely on SNAP to afford their groceries. Recipients said they’re still reeling from the uncertainty and chaos this month after the Trump administration halted benefits for nearly two weeks during the government shutdown. States sued the administration to force it to pay, but the government was ultimately reopened.
James' office said the same coalition of states asked the USDA last week to correct its guidance, but the agency did not respond.
