The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is mandating that state agencies responsible for administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps, provide sensitive personal information about recipients.
The Trump administration is pressing Oregon to submit personal details from food stamp recipients by as early as Thursday. Officials claim this data collection aims to address fraud and reduce government waste; however, anti-hunger advocates and some lawmakers assert that fraud is infrequent, suggesting that the government may have other motivations.
The USDA also states its goal is to ensure that undocumented immigrants do not access public benefits. Although individuals without legal status cannot apply for programs like SNAP, certain individuals, such as refugees or those granted asylum, may qualify. Previously, the USDA halted its data collection efforts after a coalition of SNAP enrollees, along with anti-hunger and privacy advocacy groups, filed a lawsuit arguing that the request was unlawful.
Now, the administration is resuming its pursuit of this data, facing renewed opposition from advocacy groups who argue that the move represents government overreach. According to Alex Aghdaei, SNAP policy analyst and outreach coordinator at the nonprofit Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon, both state and federal agencies already possess systems designed to detect fraud while adhering to privacy regulations.
The USDA’s request includes names, addresses, birth dates, and Social Security numbers of individuals who have received or applied for SNAP benefits in the past three years. Concerns have been raised by anti-hunger organizations and some Democratic lawmakers regarding the unprecedented nature of this request and its implications for privacy rights.
In Oregon, over 700,000 residents receive SNAP benefits, averaging around $300 per month. A spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Human Services indicated that the agency is currently reviewing the USDA’s request but did not disclose whether it intends to comply.
This initiative traces back to a memo sent by the USDA in May, which stated that the agency was collecting SNAP data to fulfill President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in government programs, as well as to establish a National SNAP Information Database to enhance program integrity.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, along with several other state attorneys general, has urged the USDA to withdraw or modify its request, claiming it violates privacy rights, including the federal Privacy Act of 1974. The same organizations that previously sued the federal government to contest the data request are now taking legal action again to block the USDA’s renewed efforts, as reported by NPR.
