Trump Administration Files Lawsuit Seeking SNAP Data in Michigan
The Trump administration has recently filed a lawsuit aiming to obtain personal information from Michiganders who receive food aid through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, around 1.4 million residents in Michigan benefit from SNAP assistance.
The lawsuit, filed on Friday, states that the Trump administration requires SNAP data from the past five years to detect fraud and overpayments. Michigan, along with other states, has resisted complying with this data request.
The four states targeted in this lawsuit all have Democratic governors.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche expressed, “The American people deserve a government that is transparent about how it spends their hard-earned tax dollars. These four states are obstructing USDA efforts to ensure that the billions of dollars in SNAP benefits they distribute annually are not lost to fraud. It’s unacceptable, suspicious, and it will not stand under this Administration.”
State officials have previously raised concerns about privacy for participants and potential misuse of the data by federal immigration agencies, as reported by the Michigan Attorney General’s office.
In a different case last year, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction that halted the USDA’s demand for the data, citing inadequate safeguards to protect personal information.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel responded to this ruling, stating, “By attempting to unlawfully seize the personal data of over a million Michigan residents, the Trump Administration sought to force families into a dilemma between safeguarding their personal identifying information and having access to food.”
