California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a lawsuit against the US Department of Agriculture on Monday, challenging what is called “illegal and dangerous demand” for sensitive personal data about millions of Californians receiving food aid through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California comes as part of a multi-state effort led by Bonta and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
It alleges that the USDA directive requiring the state to hand over their name, social security number, address and other personal information from five years ago is in violation of federal privacy laws and exceeds agency authorities.
The lawsuit states that the USDA’s request is part of a larger pattern of federal data collection, which points to previous cases of other federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, accessing personal information from agencies such as the IRS and the Department of Health and Human Services.
California has already taken legal action on similar privacy concerns related to Medicaid data.
The USDA warns that it may withhold administrative funds from states that do not comply. For California, that could mean losing about $1 billion a year that is used to run the program.
That delays and disruption in funding would put critical food access to more than five million Californians who rely on SNAP, Bonta warned.
“President Trump continues to weaponise private and sensitive personal information to create a culture of fear that people don’t want to apply for essential services, rather than eradicating fraud,” Bonta said in a statement. “We’re talking about kids not having lunch at school, not having access to emergency services to the fire service, and other devastating and fatal consequences. That’s Trump’s vision for America.”
Joining California in the lawsuit is Arizona Attorney General, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, the Columbia district, and Kentan.
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