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AG Ellison joins lawsuit against SNAP data sharing • Minnesota Reformer [1]

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Date: 2025-07

Attorney General Keith Ellison is joining a lawsuit against the Trump administration after it asked states to share the personal information of food aid recipients.

SNAP — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — provides food assistance to over 400,000 Minnesotans. The U.S. Department of Agriculture threatened to withhold the program’s funding if states don’t respond to the data request.

The lawsuit, which includes 20 other states and the District of Columbia, argues that the USDA’s request violates federal privacy laws; doesn’t meet public comment requirements; exceeds the USDA’s authority; and violates the spending clause of the Constitution.

The USDA made the data demand in May following a Trump executive order. The agency demanded information on all applicants and recipients of SNAP beginning five years ago — including Social Security numbers and home addresses. A memo to state agencies said that the purpose of the data collection was to eliminate SNAP “information silos” and address fraud and inefficiency.

According to the USDA website, “SNAP has one of the most rigorous quality control systems in the federal government.” This includes calculating payment error rates, which measure the accuracy of eligibility and benefit decisions. In 2024, Minnesota had an error rate of 8.98% compared to the national average of 10.93%.

The USDA also plans to obtain information on “immigration status eligibility.” Immigrants without legal status can’t participate in SNAP but could enroll other members of their household.

The USDA’s order is part of a larger effort from the Trump administration to gather the personal data of Americans. The federal government has already shared some of this data with immigration enforcement.

“When our neighbors struggle to put food on the table, Minnesotans believe in lending a helping hand,” Ellison said in a press release. “Outrageously, the Trump Administration is now demanding sensitive personal information on the Minnesotans receiving help to feed themselves and their families so they can potentially weaponize it to harm people across our country.”

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[1] Url: https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/ag-ellison-joins-lawsuit-against-snap-data-sharing/

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