The latest dispute centers on whether the federal government can compel states to hand over detailed SNAP records and how those records could be used, with Judge Maxine Chesney signaling Friday that she intends to block further action based on the administration’s latest demands.
Chesney, a U.S. District Judge in San Francisco, told attorneys during a hearing that she intends to issue an order stating that the federal government cannot act on letters it sent to states last year that sought the information. Her comments came in a case that followed a prior effort by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to require states to provide data about people who applied for or received SNAP benefits, including information linked to immigration status.
Last year, Chesney blocked the Agriculture Department from enforcing the data requirement after 22 states sued over the policy. The federal government continued pressing for compliance after that ruling, telling states in December it would stop paying state administrative costs for the SNAP program if they did not provide the requested information, according to court proceedings described in the case record.
In addition to the letters and funding threat, the Agriculture Department issued what the states rejected as new protocols for securing the data. The Trump administration also argued that Chesney’s earlier ruling did not apply to what it characterized as new demands.
The administration has said the information is needed to stamp out fraud and waste in SNAP, which it has described as a major problem in the nation’s biggest food aid program. The states challenging the policy argued that the Agriculture Department could share the SNAP data with immigration enforcement authorities, which they said would be illegal.
SNAP is a central part of the U.S. social safety net. The program helps about 42 million Americans—roughly 1 in 8 people—buy groceries, and people in the country illegally are not eligible for benefits under program rules, according to the reporting.
Most states have complied with the federal request, including Nevada, one of the states that sued. Other states—such as Kansas—did not comply but were not part of the lawsuit, and the litigation reflects differences in how state officials viewed the scope of the federal authority after Chesney’s initial block.
The administration has not released detailed information on the data submitted by states, but it has said the material shows higher levels of fraud than previously believed. The fight over SNAP records is one of several areas where the administration has sought to cut off federal funding to states led by Democrats, often citing fraud-prevention as its rationale.
The outcome of Friday’s tentative ruling will determine how far the federal government can push states to provide sensitive benefit records—and whether it can do so through new letters and revised enforcement approaches after an earlier court order blocked the original demand.