BOSTON — On the day before Thanksgiving, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell filed another lawsuit over the delivery of federal food benefits for low-income families.
Campbell and 21 other attorneys general filed in U.S. District Court in Oregon against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, alleging the agency has “unlawfully” cut off SNAP benefits to tens of thousands of residents and has threatened to impose financial penalties on states.
The attorneys general are seeking to block a guidance the USDA issued Oct. 31 that changes SNAP eligibility under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The federal policy narrowed eligibility for some non-citizen groups including refugees, asylum recipients and others admitted through humanitarian protection programs.
However, the attorneys general say the USDA’s guidance goes one step further. They say the guidance “incorrectly” states that anyone who entered the country through humanitarian protection programs would be permanently ineligible for SNAP, even after obtaining green cards and becoming lawful permanent residents.
During a virtual press conference Wednesday afternoon, Campbell said she was “absolutely frustrated and angered” about the situation.
The attorneys general say the USDA guidance also misinterprets the agency’s own law, which gives states a 120-day grace period to adjust and avoid facing financial penalties after new guidance is issued. But USDA said the grace period expired Nov. 1, just one day after the guidance was released. And because the guidance includes a “cost-shifting framework” on state SNAP programs, the USDA is exposing them to “major financial penalties for errors caused by the agency’s late and inaccurate memo,” Campbell’s office said.
The attorneys general also say the guidance forces them to overhaul SNAP eligibility systems “overnight” and this could create confusion for families and risk of wrongful benefit terminations. It puts states in a “situation where they must either violate federal law or accept severe financial liability,” Campbell’s office said.
Campbell and other attorneys general sent a letter Nov. 19 urging the USDA to correct its guidance including by clarifying the refugees those seeking asylum and people admitted through humanitarian parole programs may qualify for SNAP once they become permanent lawful residents. The USDA did not respond to the letter.
A USDA spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit Wednesday saying the agency does not speak about pending litigation.