‘They are eligible’: States sue Trump admin over attempts to cut SNAP benefits for legal permanent residents
The Trump administration is facing a new lawsuit accusing federal officials of unlawfully trying to restrict Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for lawful permanent residents.
The legal challenge centers on the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act, which Congress passed in July. The law changed several aspects of SNAP eligibility. Months later, during the October government shutdown, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) — a subagency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture — issued guidance interpreting the new legislation. According to the lawsuit, that guidance significantly and improperly limits SNAP access for certain noncitizens.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who filed the lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of her state and 20 others, argues that the agency’s interpretation misreads the law. She says the administration is attempting to block certain immigrants from ever qualifying for SNAP, even after they become lawful permanent residents (LPRs).
Before the OBBB took effect, refugees, asylum recipients, and many humanitarian parolees were eligible for SNAP based on their status at the time of entry or parole. The new law removed these categories from automatic eligibility — but, the complaint argues, it did not prohibit these individuals from becoming eligible later if they gained green cards.
The lawsuit says the new FNS guidance “creates a false dichotomy” by assigning various noncitizen groups to either “Not eligible unless an LPR” or simply “Not eligible,” even though anyone who adjusts status to LPR and meets other statutory requirements should theoretically be eligible. According to the plaintiffs, the government is inaccurately telling some immigrants they will never qualify, contrary to the law.
A second major dispute centers on how quickly certain green card holders can receive benefits. Under the long-standing Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWORA), LPRs generally must wait five years before accessing SNAP. However, PRWORA exempts numerous groups from this waiting period — including those who were admitted as refugees, granted asylum, or had deportation withheld. The lawsuit argues that OBBB did not alter those exemptions, yet the administration is now claiming the exceptions no longer apply to some categories of green card holders.
A third issue involves a new error-detection and penalty system described in the FNS guidance. The states say this system threatens them with severe financial consequences unless they immediately adopt what the plaintiffs call unlawful restrictions. Under OBBB, states are supposed to have 120 days to adjust to new federal requirements, but the lawsuit claims the administration has allowed only one day of flexibility for potential violations.
James criticized the policy in a statement, saying the federal government “has no authority to arbitrarily cut entire groups of people out of the SNAP program” and vowing to defend access to food assistance.
The multistate lawsuit, led by New York, alleges that the administration’s actions violate multiple provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies must operate.
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