Federal Court Blocks Trump Administration SNAP Data Demands

A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California blocked the Trump administration from forcing states to share personal data of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applicants and recipients. The court ruled that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) cannot collect these records without an agreed-upon protocol and found the administration's intent to share the data with unrelated entities, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to be unlawful.

The legal battle intensified in January 2026 as a coalition of Democratic attorneys general, including officials from Washington and Massachusetts, sought to enforce a preliminary injunction. The USDA had demanded up to six years of sensitive information, including Social Security numbers and income records, claiming the data was necessary to curb wasteful spending and prevent undocumented immigrants from receiving benefits. To compel compliance, the USDA threatened to withhold administrative funding, including approximately $129.5 million annually for Washington state and $10.4 million for Kansas.

In March 2026, Judge Maxine Chesney issued the ruling confirming that the USDA acted contrary to law. Attorneys general from California, Delaware, and other states characterized the administration's efforts as an attempt to build a mass surveillance database using private citizen data. The court's decision prevents the federal government from bypassing previous injunctions through new, unilateral security protocols.