William Tong, the attorney general, joined a multistate lawsuit opposing the Trump administration’s attempt to mandate that states exchange the personal information of those who have registered for or received nutrition aid.
Concerns over the potential chilling impact on participation in a program that aids low-income families are cited in the case.
By Wednesday, states are required to submit data on applicants and recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for the previous five years to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which manages the program. If states don’t cooperate, USDA has threatened to withdraw payments that assist them in administering SNAP.
Connecticut receives approximately $79 million annually to support the program.
State officials were notified by USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service in May that they would have to submit documents by July 30 that would allow them to identify applicants and enrollees from the start of 2020 to the present. These details include names, birth dates, residential addresses, and Social Security numbers, among others. The guidance states that failure to provide that information may result in noncompliance processes, including the withholding of money.
The request is a part of a larger effort to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order and gather data from all state programs that receive federal cash. USDA advice states that obtaining such data will help identify fraud and fight inefficiencies and bureaucratic duplication.
Emma Frost, who was shopping with SNAP at Hartford’s West End Farmers Market on Tuesday afternoon, expressed her concern over the Trump Administration’s action.
Naturally, I’m concerned if he’s using it to hurt innocent people, split apart families, or take advantage of those who are barely making ends meet on food stamps, she added. No, I don’t believe it to be correct.
In a lawsuit filed Monday, Tong joined Democratic attorneys general from 20 other states and the District of Columbia who claimed the demand violated federal privacy rules and was unlawful. The complaint requests that the federal court in California prevent the administration from requiring states to provide SNAP data in order to receive funding.
Tong said in a statement that he was concerned about potential misuse and that it was unclear why USDA was gathering information. The lawsuit warns that the most recent push might be used to support the president’s mass deportation operations and alludes to further data collecting across the federal government.
According to Tong, the USDA’s actions pose an unprecedented and unlawful risk to the privacy of families in Connecticut and nationwide. According to the legislation, Connecticut is not allowed to share personally identifiable SNAP information unless there are extremely stringent and limited reasons. None of the restricted conditions apply in this case. Nobody is aware of the purpose of this data collection, who would have access to it, or whether it would even be properly preserved. This administration is merely making another unlawful attempt to seize power, and we will not give in to these rash and irrational demands.
Demanding access to private data without transparency or protection is concerning, according to Commissioner Andrea Barton Reeves of the Department of Social Services, whose organization runs SNAP in Connecticut.
USDA does not comment on ongoing lawsuit, according to a USDA representative.
The lawsuit outlines the potential chilling effect that data gathering may have on SNAP and its recipients nationwide. The free and reduced-cost school food program is one way it might particularly impact Connecticut and a few of the other plaintiff states. SNAP recipients are automatically eligible for the School Breakfast Program and the National School Lunch Program.
Additionally, Connecticut advocates worry that disclosing private and sensitive information to the federal government may deter qualified people and families from applying for the help they require.
Jason Jakubowski, president and CEO of CT Foodshare, told The Connecticut Mirror, “I’m worried about anything that discourages people from enrolling in SNAP, makes it more difficult for people, or would make someone hesitate if they qualify for SNAP benefits.” In our opinion at CT Foodshare, if you are legally eligible for SNAP benefits, you should be receiving them. If you erect any obstacles, fewer people will be able to receive benefits or shop for groceries, which will ultimately result in more hunger in the community.
The lawsuit mirrored those worries, especially with regard to the implications for those who qualify regardless of their immigration status.
People will be deterred from taking part in nutrition programs for which they are eligible and authorized simply by the possibility that SNAP [personally identifiable information] may be shared with other federal agencies, like DOGE or DHS, for surveillance or general immigration enforcement purposes. According to the lawsuit, this chilling effect will impact citizens, those who are not (or shouldn’t be) at risk of deportation, like those who possess green cards, and mixed-immigration status families with children who are citizens of the United States.
The lawsuit stated that it would take months for some of the plaintiff states to be able to gather all of the data that USDA had required, though it could not provide a specific timeframe for Connecticut.
Conduent Inc., Connecticut’s EBT processing service provider, notified the state a few months ago that the SNAP data was sought by federal authorities. According to the agreement Conduent has with the states it works with, the lawsuit pointed out that it did not provide USDA or the Department of Government Efficiency with any confidential information.
The money that Connecticut and other states get to support the operation of nutrition assistance may be impacted by noncompliance. For fiscal year 2024, Connecticut’s SNAP administrative expenditures came to approximately $157 million, of which the federal government reimbursed half.
SNAP’s administrative expenditures are now divided equally between the federal government and the states; however, new legislation will require states to bear a larger portion of those costs in the coming years.
Last year, about 40 million Americans were eligible for food assistance.According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, approximately 400,000 persons in Connecticut received those benefits that same year, or one in nine residents of the state. Families with children make up over half of the state’s receivers. SNAP payments to Connecticut were $885 million in 2024.
Following the approval of Trump’s big, beautiful bill, the SNAP program will undergo significant changes in the coming years for both recipients and the states that oversee the federally financed program.
Some SNAP participants will have to work, train, or volunteer for at least 80 hours per month under the bill’s more stringent labor requirements. The age restriction for physically fit adults without dependents will increase from 54 to 64. It will be applicable to healthy individuals with children aged 14 and up. The bill reduced the current age of 18 as the minimum age for a dependent.
DSS estimates that 69% of SNAP-eligible households in Connecticut already have at least one working member aged 18 to 55.
For the first time in the history of the nutrition program, states may also have to pay a portion of the expenses related to SNAP payments. Benefits have always been fully funded by the federal government, which also splits administrative expenses with the states equally.
For the federal government to continue covering all SNAP-related expenses, states must maintain a payment error rate below 6% beginning in fiscal year 2028 at the latest. Overpayments and underpayments to participants are taken into account by error rates. In 2024, Connecticut’s payment mistake rate was roughly 10%.
However, compared to other states, advocates have greater faith in Connecticut’s ability to manage changes pertaining to nutrition aid and other federally sponsored programs.
According to Jakubowski of CT Foodshare, “I think we are fortunate to be here in Connecticut, and we have a governor and legislature committed to these programs.” When I see other governments across the union, they just shrug their shoulders, and it makes me sad.
The Connecticut Mirror was the first to publish this story.
