A group of 21 Democratic attorneys general led by Letitia James of New York on Wednesday sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture for what they claimed were illegal instructions to forever cut off food stamps for refugees and asylum-seekers who have green cards or lawful permanent residency, among others.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Oregon, argues that the guidance goes beyond the scope of President Donald Trump’s domestic policy bill that initiated a series of changes to social services spending. The bill prohibits some immigrant groups from receiving food stamps from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, only until they gain legal residency, the lawsuit argues.
“The federal government’s shameful quest to take food away from children and families continues,” James said in a statement. “USDA has no authority to arbitrarily cut entire groups of people out of the SNAP program, and no one should go hungry because of the circumstances of their arrival to this country.”
Under the new guidance, issued in an Oct. 31 memo, as many as 35,000 New Yorkers could lose benefits, according to the attorney general’s office. The memo also said there would be stiff penalties for states that did not immediately comply. New York, according to James, could face up to $1.2 billion in fines.
A USDA spokesperson said the department would not comment on pending litigation.
According to a report last year by the Department of Health and Human Services, about 21% of refugees and asylees received SNAP benefits at some point between 2005 and 2019. That’s compared with about 15% of U.S. residents over the same period.
About 3 million New Yorkers rely on food stamps, and around 10% could lose them because of other changes that are part of Trump’s new policies in his domestic policy bill, city and state officials say. About 41,000 noncitizens may lose benefits because of these other changes, according to one state estimate.
Last week, James and a multistate group formally asked the Department of Agriculture to clarify the new guidance for refugees and asylees. They did not receive a response, according to James’ office.
The lawsuit, which was co-led by the attorney general of Oregon, was joined by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.