DENVER — On Monday, Colorado joined a lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture over a demand for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participant data lawmakers believe will be used to further mass deportation efforts.
SNAP is a safety net for low-income Americans to purchase food for themselves and their families.
“I'm going to protect Coloradans' privacy. I'm going to protect access to this critical program providing food for those who need it here in Colorado,” Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said.
In May, the USDA issued a letter announcing that all states would be required to submit the names, dates of birth, personal addresses, Social Security numbers, immigration statuses, and the total amounts of benefits for all SNAP applicants and recipients since January 2020.
In the 60 years the program has existed, the federal government has never demanded that states turn over personal identifying information of participants in the program.
The letter threatened to withhold federal funding for the program if states did not comply.
Colorado expects to receive $96 million this year to administer SNAP to the 615,000 Coloradans enrolled.
“The aggressiveness of this administration seeking personal information about Coloradans continues to be a problem. We've had this issue with the Treasury Department seeking access to people's bank account information and Social Security numbers. There's a real concern about this so-called Department of Government Efficiency getting lots of information that they don't manage carefully and that harms our privacy,” Weiser said.
The lawsuit filed by 20 states claims the request is “for the creation of a surveillance system to advance the President’s agenda, including by facilitating the President’s mass deportation efforts.”
People who are undocumented but whose children are American citizens can apply for SNAP benefits for their children. The lawsuit claims it is lawful for these non-citizen parents to seek government assistance to feed their U.S. citizen children.
The USDA claims it needs this information to protect against waste, fraud and abuse. But the states point out that the USDA has described SNAP as having “one of the most rigorous quality control systems in the federal government.” Congress has created systems for states to vet eligibility and investigate fraud in SNAP.
Weiser said the federal government has not been totally clear about why it wants this information.
“It's never been asked before. One of the concerns, obviously, is that it could be used to aid immigration enforcement that may or may not be operating in fair and appropriate manners,” Weiser said.
The lawsuit, which the State of California filed, argues the federal government’s demand violates privacy laws and is unlawful.
The following states signed on to the lawsuit: Colorado, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Colorado joined a similar lawsuit to stop the mass transfer of Medicaid personal data to DHS and ICE.
This is Colorado’s 33rd lawsuit against the Trump administration this year.
